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ITKS;22)5 


COPYRIGHT, 1921 
BY 

HENRY E. DUNNACK 


* i * 

>•* 

APR 18 1921 

§)CI, A611781 

V- 








TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introduction; Ideals of a Democracy .. 1 

PART I 

CHAPTER 

I. Floral Emblem—The Pine Cone and Tassel . 5 

II. State Flag . 8 

III. Seal and Arms . 12 

PART II 

VOTING AND ELECTIONS IN MAINE 

I. Voting in the State of Maine . 17 

II. Boards of Registration .. 18 

III. Registration by Town Officers. 25 

IV. Naturalization . 29 

V. Nominations by Primary Elections . 33 

VI. Primary Nomination Papers . 34 

VII. Return of Votes and Inspection of Ballots. 38 

VIII. Caucus .:. 43 

IX. Rights of Women and Minors. 45 

PART III 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

I. Town Government . 49 

II. City Government . 57 

III. County Government . 60 

PART IV 

STATE GOVERNMENT 

I. Elections in Maine . 67 

II. State Officials . 74 

III. Public Institutions . 96 

IV. The Judiciary . 163 

V. Court Procedure . 107 

PART V 

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 

I. The Executive Department . 121 

II. Legislative Department . 125 

III. Commissioners . 128 

IV. Insu]ar Possessions . 129 

V. The Judiciary . 133 

VI. Legal and Political Terms .*. 134 

VII. Important Dates in Maine History. 139 































PUBLISHED BY 

THE MAINE FARMER COMPANY 
AUGUSTA, MAINE 


INDEX. 


Adjutant General, 85 
Agriculture, Department of, 79 
Agriculture, Secretary of, 123 
Alaska, 132 

Aliens, naturalization of, 29 
Ambassadors, 123 
Assessors, 19, 25, 50; state, 83 
Attorney General, Maine, 78; U S., 
122 

Auditor, State, 77 
Ballots, inspection of, 38-40 
Bank Commissioner, 88 
Bill, legislative, 71 
Blind, care of the, 101 
Bribery, penalty for, 41 
Cabinet, 122 
Caucus, 43-44 

Charities and Corrections, State 
Board of, 96-97 

Children, care of 100; citizenship of, 
32 

Citizenship, 17; of children, 32; of In¬ 
dians, 32; of women, 31-32 
City government, 57-59; city manager 
plan, 58; commission plan, 58 
Civil Service Commission, 128 
Clerk of courts, 61 
Commerce, Secretary of, 123 
Commissions, federal, 128 
Commissions and boards, state, 94-95 
Committees, political, 33 
Congress, 125-127; committees of, 
127; compositon of, 125 
Consular service, 123 
Conventions, 33 
Council, governor’s, 74 
County, Attorneys, 62; Commission¬ 
ers, 60; government, 60-63 
Court, development of the, 103-106; 
District, 133; Federal, 133; munici¬ 
pal, 106; of Appeals, Circuit, 133; 
of Claims, 133; of Common Ap¬ 
peals, 133; probate, 106; procedure, 
107-117; superior, 106; supreme, 
133 

Criminal law, 113-114 


I Deaf, Maine School for the, 102 
! Deeds, Register of, 61 
! Delinquents, 101 
I Democracy, ideals of, 1-2 
Educational test of voters, 17 
Elections, 67-73; governor, 68; legis¬ 
lature, 69-70; president of the U. 
S-, 67; representatives to Congress, 
68; state, 67; U. S. senator, 67 
'Elections, primary, 33-37; date of, 35; 
nomination papers for, 35; vacan¬ 
cies, 37; voters, qualification of, 36 
Enrollment, political, 43 
Equity, actions in, 112 
Expense account of candidate. 40-41 
False statement, penalty for, 24 
Federal Power Commission, 128 
Federal Trade Commission, 128 
Feeble-minded, 101 

I Fisheries, inland, 85; sea and sh< re, 
86 

! Flags, state, 8 
Flags, laws relating to, 9-11 
Flower, state, 5-7 
Foreign, ministers, 123 
Forest commissioner, 87 
Governor, 68-69 
Governor’s council, 74 
Hawaii, 129 

Health, commissioner of, 89 
Highways, Department of, 81 
Historian, State, 93 
History, dates in Maine, 139-144 
Indians, citizenship of, 32 
Inheritance tax, 45 
Initiative, 72 
Insane, care of the, 101 
Insular possessions of the U- S-, 129 
Insurance Commissioner, 89-91 
Interior, Secretary of the, 123 
Interstate Commerce Commission, 128 
I Judiciary, federal, 133; Maine, 103- 
106 

Juries, 110-113 
[Justice of the peace, 106 






Juvenile and Domestic Relations 
Courts, 117 

Labor, Secretary of, 123 
Labor and Industry, Department of, 
82 

Land agent, 87 
Law court, ill 
Law suit, 107-110 
Legal terms, 134-138 
Legislature, 68-71 
Librarian, State, 92 
Library Commission, 94 
Maine history, dates in, 139-144 
Medical examiner, 63 
Minors, employment of, 46 
National government, 119-133 
Naturalization of aliens, 29-32 
Naturalized citizens, registration of, 
20 

Navy, Secretary of, 123 
Paupers, 99 

Philippine Islands, 130-131 
Plantation, 55 
Political terms, 134-138 
Poor, Overseers of, 98 
Porto Rico, 129-130 
Postmaster General, 122 
President of the U- S-, 121; Election 
of, 67 

Primary elections, see Elections, pri¬ 
mary 

Printing, state, 84 

Probate, cases, 115-116; judge of, 60; 

law, 108; register of, 61 
Probation officer, 63 
Public Buildings, Superintendent of. 
93 

Public Utilities Commission, 79-81 
Referendum, 72-73 

Registration, boards of, 18-28; penal¬ 
ty for false, 24; transfer of, 28 


Representatives, House of, (Maine) 
70; National, 125 

Schools, 51-52; State Superintendent 
of, 91 

Seal, state, 12-14 

Selectmen, 50; duties of, 25-27 

Senate, Maine, 69-70 

Senate, U. S., 125; duties of, 127; 

nomination of, 35 
Sheriff, 63 
Sick, care of, 100 
Soldiers and sailors, dependent, 102 
State government, 67-117; officials, 
74-95 

State, Secretary of, Maine, 75; Unit¬ 
ed States, 122 
Tax collector, 50 

Town government, 49-56; meeting, 
49; officers, 25-28, 50-55 
Township, unorganized, 55-56 
Treasurer, county, 60; state, 76; 
town, 50 

Treasury, Secretary of, 122 
Trial of a suit, 109 
Tuberculosis, care of, 101 
United States, judiciary of, 133; na¬ 
tional government of, 121-133 
United States senators, nomination 
of, 35 

Vacancies in nominations for offices, 
37, 42 

Vice President of the U. S-, 121 
Voters, qualification of, 17, 36; regis¬ 
tration of, 17-28 
War, Secretary of, 122 
Water Power Commission, Federal, 
128 

Women, citizenship of, 31-32; hours 
of work of, 45; rights of, 45-46 
Workmen’s Compensation Act, 83 
Writ, 109 











IDEALS OF A DEMOCRACY. 


The three main things that one should study in order to under¬ 
stand the genius, or characteristic spirit, of our government and 
its institutions are: (1) its constitutional framework, (2) the 
methods by which it is operated, and (3) the forces that move it 
and direct its course. 

Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon 
the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do ingloriously, by licensing 
and prohibiting, to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood 
grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open 
encounter? 

Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely ac¬ 
cording to conscience, above all liberties .—John Milton. 

The liberty-loving people of every country take courage from 
American prosperity. But America is not so much an example in 
her liberty as in the covenanted and enduring securities which are 
intended to prevent liberty degenerating into license, and to es¬ 
tablish a feeling of trust and repose under a beneficent govern¬ 
ment, whose excellence, so obvious in its freedom, is still more 
conspicuous in its careful provision for permanence and stability. 
— Cooley. 

This government, the offspring of your own choice, uninfluenced 
and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature delibera¬ 
tion, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its 
powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself 
a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your con¬ 
fidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance 
with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined 



by the fundamental maxims of true Liberty. The basis of our 
political systems is the rights of the people to make and to alter 
their constitutions of government. But the constitution which at 
ciny time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the 
whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of 
the power and the right of the people to establish government 
presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established 
government .—George Washington. 

It is of great importance in a republic, not only to guard the so¬ 
ciety against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of 
the society against the injustice of the other part .—James Mad¬ 
ison. 

Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. 
It ever has been, and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or 
until liberty be lost in the pursuit. In a society under the forms 
of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the 
weaker individual is not secured against the violence of the strong¬ 
er. And as in the latter state, even the stronger individuals are 
prompted by the uncertainty of their condition to submit to a gov¬ 
ernment which may protect the weak as well as themselves, so, in 
the former state, will the more powerful factions be gradually 
induced by a like motive to wish for a government which will pro¬ 
tect all parties, the weaker as well as the more powerful.— Alex¬ 
ander Hamilton. 

This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who 
inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing gov¬ 
ernment, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending 
it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it. 
.Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ulti¬ 
mate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in 
the world ?—Abraham Lincoln. 


2 



PART I. 


FLORAL EMBLEM.—THE FLAG. 
















CHAPTER I. 

FLORAL EMBLEM-THE PINE CONE AND TASSEL 

(Pinus strobus L.) 

The idea of a national garland of flowers instead of a single 
national flower originated at the Women’s Congress at the 
World’s Fair in Chicago: one country—but it is made up of many 
different and individual states; one language but in it are vestiges 
of all the languages of the world; one flag, but that flag has thir¬ 
teen stripes and forty-eight stars, so one floral emblem, a garland 
composed of the state flowers. 

It was decided that each state should choose its own flower and 
that the legislature should be asked to make the choice legal. In 
our state the Maine Floral Emblem Society was immediately 
formed. Under its direction the Maine flower was chosen. Bal¬ 
lots were published in the newspapers during the months of No¬ 
vember and December, 1894, and everyone was urged to register 
his choice. High school pupils, women’s clubs, granges, and 
Maine people scattered all over the United States responded. The 
three flowers with the largest number of votes were the pine 
cone, the goldenrod, and the appleblossom, but the pine cone led 
by many thousand votes. In 1895 the pine cone and tassel were 
legally adopted by the sixty-seventh legislature as the floral em¬ 
blem ol the State of Maine. 

It was particularly fitting that the flower of the “Pine Tree 
State,” whose seal wears a pine tree in its heart, should be the 
pine cone and tassel. The pine of the seal is called in the old 
records the “mast pine, pinus, americana, quinis ex uno folliculo 
setis.” We know it best as the white pine, but in England it is 
called the Weymouth pine because it is found in great quantity 
on the estate of Lord Weymouth of Kent. It is by far the most 
attractive of the six hundred varieties of pine, nearly forty of 
which are native to North America. It often reaches the height 
of one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet, with sometimes 


.5 



eighty or ninety feet without branches. The white pine is most 
adaptable. Someone has said that it was frugal by nature and 
that it could stand poverty better than surfeit. You will find it 
growing everywhere in Maine, scattered among the other trees 
in the depths of the forest, clinging to the rocky soil of pasture 
land or coast and clustered in lovely groves on the hillsides. It 
once formed extensive, primeval forests, but these have long since 
disappeared under the axe of the settler and lumberman. 

Always beneath the pine is a brown carpet of pine needles, 
overhead the whorled branches of evergreen, through which the 
wind soughs and murmurs its soft lullabies. The pine lives to a 
hale and hearty old age, growing from within outward. It has 
grace, elegance and dignity. Maine people do not have to be told 
of its manifold uses. 

Although the pine lacks the legendary background of many 
trees, yet some pretty stories cling to it. The Japanese call it the 
New Year tree, and to them it typifies longevity, constancy and 
health. In other lands it is considered a sacred tree. It is the 
fir tree of the Norsemen. The scientific name, pinus strobus, is 
itself suggestive. Pinus comes from an old Celtic word meaning 
a rock, a mountain, and strobus is the name that Pliny gave in 
his Natural History, that storehouse of misinformation, to a tree 
of Persia that “yielded odiferous gum.” 

The tassel is the cluster of delicate, slender needle-like leaves 
which are in whorls of five. The flowers of the pine appear in 
the spring, first tiny stiff catkins, green and viscid. They grow 
slowly through the summer and in the fall they are an inch or 
two long. It takes two seasons for the cones to ripen. They are 
then four to six inches in length, cylindrical in shape, and about 
an inch in diameter. They droop and curve inwards slightly. 
The scales are without prickles and have a whitish gum-like de¬ 
posit on their tips. • The mature cones begin to open early in Sep¬ 
tember when the seeds blow out and are carried by the wind far 
and wide. There are two little winged seeds on each scale, and 
there may be eighty or even more seeds in a cone. Next year the 
seedling pines appear, the promise of future forests. These far- 


6 


blown seeds are like Maine’s children who have left her fostering 
care to find new homes among the oaks and maples of other states 
and other countries, but still they keep their sturdy virtues and 
claim the Pine Tree State as their home. 

The pine cone is no hothouse flower grown only under the most 
favorable circumstances and available only in certain seasons. 
It is not a delicate, fragile thing which fades and withers quickly. 
Its dull brown is the brown of the stubble in the autumn fields, 
or the earth turned up by the farmer’s plough in long furrows. 
The pine cone lacks, of course, the lovely color of California’s 
golden poppies, the sheer beauty of Connecticut’s mountain laur¬ 
el, and the exquisite fragrance of Florida’s orange blossoms. Yet 
is it not typical of Maine and her people? Like Maine’s hardy 
pioneers it is not without beauty of a useful sort. It suggests 
our stern climate, our rugged soil, our sober, sensible people. 

But nothing is lovelier than a pine cone fire with its spicj/ 
penetrating odor, in the keen air of the early autumn twilight as 
it gleams and glows like a living thing. So Maine’s sons touched 
by the spark of patriotism, caught in the conflagration of war, 
went singing to their death and left behind them a fragrance and 
a memory that will linger long. 


7 


CHAPTER II. 

STATE FLAG 

For many years the State of Maine had no flag established 
under the authority of law. At one time the “Stars and Stripes” 
with the seal and arms of the state in the center of the union was 
most in use. During the Civil War a blue silk flag, conforming 
in size and trimmings to the United States regulation colors, blaz¬ 
oned with the arms of the State in the center of its field, was car¬ 
ried by the Maine troops. 

The present flag was established by the Maine Legislature of 
1909, Public Laws, Chapter 19, which reads as follows: 

“Section 1. The flag to be known as the official flag of the 
State of Maine shall be of blue, same color as the blue field in the 
flag of the United States, and of the following dimensions and de¬ 
signs; to wit, the length, or height, of the staff to be nine feet, 
including brass spear-head and ferule; the fly of said flag to be 
five feet six inches, and to be four feet four inches on the staff; 
in the center of the flag there shall be embroidered in silk the 
same on both sides of the flag the coat of arms of the State of 
Maine, in proportionate size; the edges to be trimmed with knot¬ 
ted fringe of yellow silk, two and one-half inches wide, a cord, 
with tassels, to be attached to the staff at the spear-head, to be 
eight feet six inches long and composed of white and blue silk 
strands. 

“Section 2. The flag of the State of Maine to be carried by the 
regiments of the National Guard of Maine shall be the same as 
the flag described in the first section of this act, with the addition 
of two scrolls in red, one above and one below the coat of arms 
of the State; in the upper scroll the inscription 
Regiment Infantry, and in the lower scroll the inscription Na¬ 
tional Guard State of Maine.” 


8 


Uniform 
Flag Law 


“Sec. 1. The words flag, standard, color, en¬ 
sign or shield, as used in this act, shall include 
any flag, standard, color, ensign or shield, or 
copy, picture or representation thereof, made of any substance 
or represented or produced thereon, and of any size, evidently 
purporting to be such flag, standard, color, ensign or shield of 
the United States or of this state, or a copy, picture or representa¬ 
tion thereof. 


“Sec. 2. No person shall, in any manner, for exhibition or dis¬ 
play : 

(a) place or cause to be placed any word, figure, mark, pic¬ 
ture, design, drawing or advertisement of any nature upon any 
flag, standard, color, ensign or shield of the United States or of 
this state, or authorized by any law of the United States or of 
this state; or 

(b) expose to public view any such flag, standard, color, en¬ 
sign or shield upon which shall have been printed, painted or 
otherwise produced, or to which shall have been attached, ap¬ 
pended, affixed or annexed any such word, figure, mark, picture, 
design, drawing or advertisement; or 

(c) expose to public view for sale, manufacture, or otherwise, 
or to sell, give or have in possession for sale, for gift or for use 
for any purpose any substance, being an article of merchandise 
or receptacle, or thing for holding or carrying merchandise, upon 
or to which shall have been produced or attached any such flag, 
standard, color, ensign or shield, in order to advertise, call atten¬ 
tion to, decorate, mark or distinguish such article or substance. 


“Sec. 3. No person shall publicly mutilate, deface, defile, defy, 
trample upon, or by word or act cast contempt upon and such flag, 
standard, color, ensign or shield. 

“Sec. 4. This statute shall not apply to any act permitted by 
the statutes of the United States or of this state, or by the Unit¬ 
ed States Army and Navy regulations, nor shall it apply to any 
printed or written document or production, stationery, ornament, 
picture or jewelry whereon shall be depicted said flag, standard, 


9 


color, ensign or shield with no design or words thereon and dis¬ 
connected with any advertisement. 

“Sec. 5. Any violation of section two of this act shall be a 
misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of not more than fifty dol¬ 
lars. Any violation of section three of this act shall be punish¬ 
able by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by im¬ 
prisonment for not more than six months, or by both fine and im¬ 
prisonment, in the discretion of the court. 

“Sec. 6. All laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith are 
hereby repealed. 

“Sec. 7. This act shall be construed as to effectuate its general 
purpose and to make uniform the laws of the states which enact it. 

“Sec. 8. This act may be cited as the Uniform Flag Law.” 

(P. L. 1919, c. 158) 

Q 7 “Superintendents of schools shall see that the 

flag is displayed from the public buildings on 
appropriate occasions. They shall report annually to the towns 
the amount necessary to furnish the public schools with suitable 
flags and flagstaffs and towns shall annually appropriate a suffi¬ 
cient amount to defray the necessary cost of the display of the 
flag. The appropriation for this purpose shall be separate from 
and additional to all other appropriations for schools. It shall be 
the duty of instructors to impress upon the youth by suitable ref¬ 
erences and observances the significance of the flag, to teach them 
the cost, the object and principles of our government, the great 
sacrifices of our forefathers, the important part taken by the 
Union Army in the war of eighteen hundred sixty-one to eighteen 
hundred sixty-five, and to teach them to love, honor and respect 
the flag of our country that cost so much and is so dear to every 
true American citizen.” 

(R. S. c. 16, s. 52) 

Flag at Polling “ That , the H* 8 °{ ° Ur C ° Untry sha11 be displayud 
pj aces m each polling place at every election; there to 

serve as a symbol of that responsible liberty 

which finds expression in the suffrage of a free people, and as an 

inspiring challenge to the youth of America and foreign born cit- 


10 


izen alike, who, in its presence execute the serious duties of citi¬ 
zenship. The secretary of state is hereby directed to furnish a 
copy of this resolution to the municipal officers of every city, town 
or plantation in the state.” 

(Res. 1919, c. 117) 




11 


CHAPTER III. 

SEAL AND ARMS. 



The following resolve providing for the seal and arms of the 
state of Maine was adopted June 9, 1820, by the first Maine Leg¬ 
islature : 

“A shield, argent charged with a Pine Tree; a Moose Deer, at 
the foot of it, recumbent. Supporters; on the dexter side, an Hus¬ 
bandman, resting on a scythe; on sinister side, a Seaman, resting 
on an anchor. In the foreground, representing sea and land, and 
under the shield, the name of the State in large Roman Capitals, 
to wit:— 

MAINE 

The whole surmounted by a Crest, the North Star. The Motto, 
in small Roman Capitals, in a label interposed between the Shield 
and the crest, viz:—DIRIGO.” 


Explanation 


“The Moose Deer (cervus alces) is a native of 
the forests of Maine. When full grown, it is 
scarcely inferior to a horse in size. It has a neck, short and thick, 
a large head, horns dilating almost immediately from the base into 
a broad, palmated form, a thick, heavy upper lip, hanging much 
over the lower, very high shoulders and long legs. The color is 
a dark greyish brown, much paler on the legs and under part of 
the body. The hair is coarse and strong and is much longer on 


12 



the top of the shoulders, and ridge of the neck, than other parts. 
The eyes and ears are large, the hoofs broad and the tail extreme¬ 
ly short. The greatest height of the Moose Deer is about seven¬ 
teen hands, and the weight of such an animal about twelve hun¬ 
dred and twenty pounds. In deep snows they collect in numbers 
in pine forests. 

“The Mast Pine (Americana, quinis ex uno folliculo setis) 
leaves five together, cones cylindrical, imbricated, smooth, longer 
than the leaves, crest of the anthers of two minute, awl-shaped 
bristles. It is as well the staple of the commerce of Maine, as the 
pride of her forests. It is an evergreen of towering height, and 
enormous size. It is the largest and most useful of American 
Pines and the best timber for masts. 


Name 


“The territory, embraced by the limits of the 
State, bears the name Maine. 


Q res ^ “As in the Arms of the United States, a cluster 

of stars represents the States, composing the 
Nation, the NORTH STAR may be considered particularly appli¬ 
cable to the most northern member of the confederacy, or as indi¬ 
cating the local situation of the most northern State in the Union. 


Motto “ ” : I Direct or I Guide. As the polar 

star has been considered the mariner’s guide 
and director in conducting the ship over the pathless ocean to the 
desired haven, and the center of magnetic attraction; as it has 
been figuratively used to denote the point, to which all affections 
turn, and as it is here intended to represent the State, it may be 
considered the citizen’s guide , and the object to which the pa¬ 
triot’s best exertions should be directed.” 


The Pine Tree 


THE SHIELD. 

“The stately Pine, with its straight body, erect 


head, and evergreen foliage, and whose beauty 
is exceeded only by its usefulness, while it represents the State, 
will excite the constant prayer of its citizens, semper viridis. 


13 


The Moose 
Deer 


“A native animal of the State, which retires 
before the approaching steps of human habi- 
tancy, in his recumbent posture and undis¬ 
turbed situation, denotes the extent of unsettled lands, which fu¬ 
ture years may see the abodes of successive generations of men, 
whose spirit of independence shall be untamed as this emblem, 
and whose liberty shall be unrestricted as the range of the Moose 
Deer. 


ri n a , An Husbandman with a scythe represents Ag- 

of the Shield ^culture generally, and more particularly that 
of a grazing country; while a Seaman resting 
on an anchor, represents Commerce and Fisheries; and both indi¬ 
cate that the State is supported by these primary vocations of its 
inhabitants.” 


14 


PART II. 

VOTING AND ELECTIONS 
IN MAINE. 


15 

























































































































. 



























































16 


























CHAPTER I. 

VOTING IN THE STATE OF MAINE. 


Citizenship 

are citizens of 
reside. 


All persons born or naturalized in the United 
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, 
the United States and of the state wherein they 


Qualification 
of Voters 


Every citizen who had the right to vote on the 
fourth day of January, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-three together with those who were sixty 
years of age and upwards on said day, and every citizen, excepting 
paupers, persons under guardianship, and Indians not taxed, who, 
not being prevented by physical disability from so doing, is able 
to read the constitution of the state in the English language, in 
such manner as to show that he is neither prompted nor reciting 
from memory, and to write his name, and who is twenty-one years 
of age or upwards, and shall have his residence established in this 
state for the term of three months next preceding any national, 
state, city or town election shall have the right to vote at every 
such election in the city, town or plantation where his residence is 
so established, and such right to vote at national and state elec¬ 
tions in such city, town or plantation shall continue for a period 
of three months after his removal therefrom, if he continues to 
reside in this state during said period; provided, however, that 
his name has been properly entered upon the voting list of such 
city, town or plantation. 

Any applicant for registration as a voter, claim¬ 
ing exemption from the educational test recited 
in the preceding section, shall declare under 
oath, that he was a legal voter in this state on the fourth day of 
January, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and, if required so 
to do, shall furnish such other reasonable evidence of the truthful¬ 
ness of his statement as may be satisfactory to the officers whose 
duty it is to prepare voting lists. 


Voter claiming 
Exemption 


[ 2 ] 


17 


CHAPTER II. 

BOARDS OF REGISTRATION. 


Appearance in 
person to 
Register 

registration and 
a voter. 


Every person whose name has not been entered 
upon the voting lists in any city in accordance 
with the provisions hereof, must, if he desires 
to vote, appear in person at a place provided for 
prove that he possesses all the qualifications of 


In each city of the state having three thousand 
Boards of or more inhabitants, a board of registration 

Registration shall have exclusive power and authority to 
make up, correct and revise the list of voters. In all cities having 
less than three thousand inhabitants, the municipal officers shall 
make such list, exercising the same powers and being governed 
by the same laws as municipal officers of towns having five hun¬ 
dred or more registered voters. 

The board shall consist of three members who shall be residents 
and legal voters of the city where the board is established; they 
shall not hold any state, county or city office or be candidates 
therefor, at any election, primary election or caucus so long as they 
shall continue members of the board. One member of the board 
shall be appointed and commissioned by the governor, by and with 
the consent of the council, for the term of four years. The other 
two members of the board shall be chosen one from the political 
party polling the highest number of votes for governor at the next 
preceding state election, and one from the political party polling 
the next highest number of votes for governor at said election; 
they shall each hold their office for the term of three years; each 
shall be nominated by the city committee of his own political party, 
and upon due notice thereof in writing, the several mayors of the 
cities shall forthwith appoint such persons, so nominated, members 
of the board. 


18 


The board shall have the exclusive power and 
authority to hear evidence and determine the 
qualification of voters in the city in which it is 
established. The presiding officer, at the request 
of any member shall cause any party or witness 
appearing before the board to be sworn; any member of the board 
may administer oaths; and the board shall have power to compel 
the attendance of witnesses; to punish for contempt; and to issue 
all processes necessary to the performance of the duties of the 
board. 


Exclusive power 
to determine 
qualifications 
of voters 


The assessors of any city shall in the months of 
April and May in each year, visit every building 
in their respective cities and make true lists 
containing the name, age, occupation and resi¬ 
dence on the first day of April in the current 
year, and his occupation and residence on the 
first day of April in the preceding year, or of 
his becoming an inhabitant after the last named day, of every per¬ 
son twenty-one years of age and upwards, residing therein and lia¬ 
ble to be assessed for a poll-tax. They shall make correction of 
any error in the name or place of residence of a person assessed, 
on his personal application, and on proof of the same, shall make 
proper correction thereof on their books. 


Assessors 
required to 
make true lists 
of all persons 
liable to pay 
poll-tax 


Assessors The assessors shall promptly on or before the 

shall transmit first day of July in each year, transmit to the 

lists to boards boards of registration, the lists so made, or cer- 
of registration tified copies thereof, noting therein every change 
of name or residence of persons assessed a poll-tax by them, and 
on or before the first day of July in each year, shall prepare street 
lists containing the name of every person assessed by them, or 
who has moved out of the city. Such lists shall be arranged by 
wards or voting precincts, if any. They shall prepare a copy of 
the street lists and deliver the same to their respective boards of 
registration on or before the fifteenth day of July. 


19 


Boards of registration shall keep a general reg- 
Boards shall [ s ^ r 0 f vo ters containing the names and rec- 
keep register ords of aJ | vo ters entered from year to year on 

of all voters the vo ting lists, giving the full Christian name 

and the surname, date of registration, residence on the first day 
of April of the year of registration or on the day of his becoming 
an inhabitant after the first day of April, age, place of birth, oc¬ 
cupation, place of occupation, how long resident of the city, place 
of casting his last vote, married or single, residence of wife or 
family, where naturalized, when naturalized, in what court. 

In making examination of an applicant, who is 
a naturalized citizen, he shall be required, to 
produce for inspection his papers of naturaliza¬ 
tion, or a certificate of the same from the court 
where he was naturalized, and to make oath that 
he is the identical person mentioned therein. 

All meetings of the board of registration shall 
be open and public, and shall close on each day 
at nine o’clock in the afternoon, except as here¬ 
inafter provided. A record shall be kept of all 
names added to or stricken from the voting lists 
and of all other proceedings of said board. No 
name shall be added to or stricken from said 
voting lists except during the onen sessions of said boards. 

Boards of registration shall prepare ward lists 
of voters of such persons as appear to them to 
be legally qualified voters, at least thirty days 
before any election to be held for any purpose. 

Boards of registration shall be in session from 
nine in the forenoon to one o’clock in the after¬ 
noon, and from three to five o’clock in the after¬ 
noon and from seven to nine o’clock in the afternoon, in cities of 
not less than nineteen thousand inhabitants, on each of the twelve 
secular days next prior to any election; on the first nine of the 
secular days, to receive evidence touching the qualifications of vot¬ 
ers therein, and to revise and correct the voting lists, and on the 


Requirements 
made of 
applicant who 
is a naturalized 
citizen 

Meetings of 
board shall be 
public; record 
of names added 
to or stricken 
from lists 


Lists of 
voters 


Session of 
boards 


20 



latter three of the secular days, to enable the board to verify the 
correctness of the lists and to complete and close up its records 
of the sessions, and in cities of not less than thirty-five thousand 
inhabitants the board shall be in session the sixty secular days 
prior to any state or municipal election; on the first twenty of the 
days the boards shall be in session from nine o’clock in the fore¬ 
noon to one o’clock in the afternoon, and from three o’clock to 
five o’clock in the afternoon, and on the next ten secular days the 
boards shall be in session from nine o’clock in the forenoon to one 
o’clock in the afternoon and from three o’clock to five o’clock in 
the afternoon, and from seven to nine o’clock in the afternoon, to 
receive evidence and to determine the qualifications and rights of 
registration of voters therein, and to revise and correct the voting 
lists; and on the latter thirty of the sixty secular days the boards 
shall be in session to enable said board to verify the correctness 
of the voting lists and to close up the records of the boards, and 
to hear and determine the right of any person, whose right has 
been challenged, to have his name added to or remain on the list 
or be stricken from the same. In cities of not less than thirty-five 
thousand inhabitants registration prior to any presidential election 
shall be held during the days and hours fixed by this section for the 
registration of voters for the municipal election next following. 
And in all other cities, for the same purpose, and at the same 
hours on each of the five secular days next prior to any election, 
the first four thereof to be devoted to registration as above, and 
the last one of the secular days to enable the board to verify the 
correctness of said lists and to complete and close up its records 
of the sessions. 

The wardens of cities shall be governed by the revised and cor¬ 
rected lists. No board of registration shall be answerable for any 
omission of a name or residence from, the voting lists or for any 
error in the same, unless such name and residence are correctly 
entered in the general register of voters; but on the day of election 
the board shall be in session, and shall give to any registered voter 
whose name has been omitted from the voting list, or in whose 
name or residence as placed on the voting list a clerical error has 


21 


been made, a certificate signed by a majority of the board, giving 
the corrected name and residence of such person, and directed to 
the officer presiding over the election; such officer shall on receipt 
of such certificate, allow the person therein named to vote and 
shall check his name on the certificate and securely attach the cer¬ 
tificate to the voting list. 


Proceedings 
when any 
person’s right 
to vote is 
challenged 


When the right of any person to have his name 
placed upon such list is challenged by any quali¬ 
fied elector, or when the right of any person to 
have his name remain upon such list is so chal¬ 
lenged, before the board shall add to or strike 
from the list the name of any such person, the 
board or any member thereof, shall issue a notice and summons to 
the person so challenged and allow him a reasonable opportunity 
to be heard. Such notice and summons shall be served upon such 
person by an officer qualified to serve civil process, by giving him 
in hand or by leaving at his last and usual place of abode, an at¬ 
tested copy of the notice and summons, at least six hours before 
the closing of the final session of the board devoted to the revision 
and correction of the voting lists. The person and the board may 
also summon and examine other witnesses before the board con¬ 
cerning his right to vote, and if it appears to the board that such 
person is not or will not be qualified to vote at such election, they 
shall cause his name to be erased from the list and not add it there¬ 
to. And the list of voters in cities shall state the street, and so far 
as practicable, the number of the street where each voter resides. 
The residence of a voter as stated upon the list of voters used at 
the last preceding election shall be deemed his last and usual place 
of abode, unless he shall have given notice in writing, over his 
own signature, or in person to the city clerk of a change of his 
residence, and which notice, if given after the first day of April, 
shall entitle him to have his residence so corrected on the voting 
list to be used at the next subsequent election, but shall not entitle 
him to have his registration otherwise changed, nor to vote in 
ward or precinct other than that in which he resided on the first 
day of April. The clerk shall keep a record of all notices of change 

22 


of residence, which record shall at all times be open to public in¬ 
spection. 


Notice of 
meetings 


Notices of the time and place of the sessions of 
the board to revise and correct the voting lists, 
shall be given by the president thereof and post¬ 
ed by the clerks of the cities at the same time and place as are 
the certified copies of the lists of voters; and the voting lists as 
revised and corrected by the board of registration shall be used at 
each election held in the cities in the several wards. 


Right of 
challenge 


Any qualified elector in cities may challenge the 
right of any person to vote in any ward of the 
cities at any election held therein, and shall be 
given the opportunity by the presiding officer to make such chal¬ 
lenge, and such presiding officer shall note the fact of such chal¬ 
lenge upon the voting list used in such ward, and upon such ballot 
so challenged, witnessed by two election officers representing two 
different parties. But before permitting a person so challenged 
to vote the warden shall cause him to state his place and date of 
birth; occupation; place of business; whether married or single; 
if married the name and residence of his wife; how long a resident 
of the city, and where his last vote was cast; which answers shall 
be reduced to writing on blanks furnished for that purpose by the 
city clerk, and signed by the voter, whose signature shall be wit¬ 
nessed by two election officers representing two different parties. 
The warden shall promptly return all such records to the city 
clerk, and he shall keep them on file for public inspection for one 
year. 


Where notices 
shall be posted 


All notices of boards, assessors, city clerks or of 
any other public officer relating to registration 
of voters or to elections, shall be posted at or as 


near as may be to the places designated for receiving votes on 
election days. 


23 


Penalty, for 
false 

registration 


Whoever causes his name to be registered know¬ 
ing that he is not a qualified voter in the place 
where so registered, or falsely represents or at¬ 
tempts to represent himself as another person 


before any board of registration, or gives a false answer to said 
board concerning any matter relating to the registration of a voter, 
or the right of any person to vote, or aids or abets any other per¬ 
son in doing either of the acts above mentioned, shall for each of¬ 
fense be punished by a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars or 
by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year. 

Any city officer, who shall wilfully neglect or 
refuse to perform any duty required of him by 
law in matters relating to the registration of 
voters, shall for each offense be punished by a 
fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or by 
imprisonment not exceeding two years. 

Whoever causes his name to be placed upon the 
list of voters of more than one ward in any city 
for the same election, or causes any such act, or 
aids or abets any person in such act, shall be 
punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars or by im¬ 
prisonment, not exceeding-one year. 


Penalty, if any 
city officer 
refuses or 
neglects to 
'perform duty 

Penalty, if a 
person registers 
falsely 


Penalty, for 
making false 
statement 


Whoever knowingly or wilfully makes a false 
affidavit, or takes a false oath, or signs a false 
certificate regarding the qualification of any 
person for the assessment of a tax or for regis¬ 
tration, or injures or defaces any list of voters or any notice re¬ 
lating to the registration of voters in any city, or prevents or in¬ 
terferes with, or aids or abets any person in preventing or inter¬ 
fering with any public officer in the discharge of his duty relating 
to the registration of voters, shall for each offense be punished 
by a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars or by punishment 
in the county jail not exceeding one year. 


24 


CHAPTER III. 

REGISTRATION BY TOWN OFFICERS 


Assessors to 
prepare lists 


In every town, where the selectmen are not as¬ 
sessors, the assessors on or before the first day 
of August in each year in which an election of 
governor, senators and representatives is held, shall prepare a list 
of the persons whom they judge to be constitutionally qualified to 
vote therein at such election and deliver it to the selectmen. 

,, , , , The selectmen of every town, on or before the 

Selectmen to , ,, , . A , . , , „ 

eleventh day of August m every such year, shall 

p.epaie prepare a corrected list of persons so qualified. 

correctsd lists 


Sessions of 
selectmen to 
correct lists; 
notice 


In every town, having by the census of the 
United States, then last taken, more than three 
thousand inhabitants, the selectmen shall be in 
open session to receive evidence of the qualifica¬ 
tions of persons claiming the right to vote at 
any such election, and for the correction of said list, for a reason¬ 
able time, on not more than two days, between the eleventh and 
eighteenth days of August in every such year, giving previous no¬ 
tice of the time and place of each session, as their town meetings 
are notified. 


Lists to be 
deposited with 
clerk and 
posted 

town. 

Names not to 
be added or 
stricken out 


On or before the twentieth day of August in 
every such year, the selectmen shall deposit in 
the office of the town clerk, an alphabetical list 
of voters thus prepared and revised, and post 
a similar list in one or more public places in the 

After such lists are thus prepared, deposited 
with the clerk, and posted, the selectmen shall 
not add thereto, nor strike therefrom, the name 
of any person except in open session on one of 
the days prescribed by law for receiving evi- 


25 


dence of the qualifications of voters; nor shall they strike from 
said list the name of any person residing in the town, without no¬ 
tice first given to him that his right to vote is questioned, and an 
opportunity for a hearing on one of such days. But at any regular 
session for receiving such evidence, the selectmen shall place on 
the list of voters, the name of every person known by, or proved 
to them to be so qualified, whether he applies therefor or not. 


Selectmen , 
duties 
respecting 
■papers of 
naturalization 


When a person of foreign birth exhibits to the 
selectmen of his town papers of naturalization, 
issued to him in due form by a court having 
jurisdiction, they shall, if satisfied of their gen¬ 
uineness, and that such person is. entitled to 
vote, approve such papers by a written indorse¬ 
ment thereon, with the date thereof, signed by one of them; regis¬ 
ter in a book kept for that purpose the name of the person, the 
date of the papers, the date of approval and the name of the court 
by which they were issued; cause the name of such person to be 
entered on the list of voters; and continue his name on the suc¬ 
cessive lists so long as he continues to reside there and is in other 
respects qualified to vote. If they are of opinion that such papers 
are not genuine, or were not issued to the person presenting them, 
or that he is not for other cause a voter, they shall not approve 
them or perform the other acts required; but he shall not, by their 
refusal to approve his papers, or to enter his name, be deprived 
of his right to vote, upon satisfactory proof. 


Registration 
in towns 


In all towns, cities not included, having five 
hundred or more registered voters, and in all 
cities having less than three thousand inhab¬ 
itants, the municipal officers shall receive applications of persons 
claiming a right to vote, on the three secular days next preceding 
the day of election, and no applications shall be received after the 
hour of five in the afternoon on the secular day next preceding the 
day of election; and no names shall be added to the list of voters 
on the day of election, by certificate or otherwise, except such as 
were upon the list used at the last preceding election, and have 
been inadvertently omitted by the selectmen; and on that day no 


26 


change shall be made in names except to correct clerical errors 
therein. 

In every town containing less than five hundred voters, the mu¬ 
nicipal officers shall be in session on the day of any such election 
to receive and decide on such applications, at some convenient 
place, for so long a time immediately preceding the opening of the 
polls as they think necessary, and shall hear and determine any 
such application at any time before the polls are closed. 

The municipal officers shall order notice of the 
time and place of all their sessions required or 
authorized in the two preceding sections to be 
given in the warrant for calling the meetings for such elections. 

The selectmen shall make a correct alphabetical 
list of the inhabitants of their towns qualified 
to vote in the choice of town officers, and de¬ 
posit it in the office of the town clerk, and post a copy thereof in 
one or more public places in such town, on or before the twen¬ 
tieth day of February, annually. 

They shall be in session at some convenient 
time and place to be by them notified in the 
warrant for calling the meeting in such town, 
on the secular day next preceding the annual 
election in March, or on the morning of the day of election, to 
hear and decide upon the applications of persons claiming to have 
their names entered upon said list, and such session, when held 
on a secular day preceding the election, shall continue at least 
three hours, and when held on the day of election, shall continue 
until the election of town officers required by law to be elected by 
ballot, has been completed. 

The town clerk shall have the list of voters pro¬ 
vided for by the two preceding sections, at ev- 
every town meeting held for the choice of town 
officers required by law to be chosen by ballot, 
and it shall be kept and used as a check list at 
the polls by said clerk or moderator at such meeting, if demanded 
by one-third of the voters present. 


Notice of 
sessions 


List of 
voters 


Selectmen's 
sessions to 
correct lists 


Check list to 
be kept for 
choice of town 
officers 


27 


If the town clerk or moderator presiding at 
such meeting wilfully neglects or refuses to 
comply with the preceding section, he forfeits 
not less than fifty, nor more than one hundred 
dollars, to be recovered in an action of debt in 
the same and for the use of the town, to be 
prosecuted by the treasurer at the request of any voter therein. 

Whenever an applicant for registration, before 
any board of registration or the municipal of¬ 
ficers of any town, acting as a board of regis¬ 
tration, states his last voting place as a city or 
town in the State of Maine, and the board de¬ 
termines that the applicant is entitled to regis¬ 
ter, it shall immediately notify by mail the board of the city or 
town where such person last voted, of such registration and the 
board, receiving such notice, shall at its first meeting strike from 
its list the said name, if satisfied as to the identity of the person. 


Penalty if 
clerk or 
moderator 
neglects or 
refuses 


Boards of 
registration 
shall notify 
officers of 
latter town 


28 


CHAPTER IV. 


Courts 


Who may be 
naturalized 


NATURALIZATION. 

The following courts have the power to nat¬ 
uralize aliens: United States District Courts 
in the states and territories; also all courts of record in any state 
or territory having a seal, a clerk, and jurisdiction in actions at 
law or equity, or law and equity, in which the amount in contro¬ 
versy is unlimited. The power to naturalize is limited to persons 
residing within the geographical limits of the respective courts. 

An alien, white, or of African nativity or de¬ 
scent, is required, if he desires to become nat¬ 
uralized, to file a declaration of intention in the 
clerk's office of a court having jurisdiction, and such declaration 
may not be filed until the alien has reached the age of 18. This 
declaration must contain information as to the name, age, occu¬ 
pation, time and place of arrival in the United States and must 
further show it is the declarant's bona fide intention to become a 
citizen of the United States and to renounce forever all allegiance 
and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty 
and particularly to the one of which he may at the time be a sub¬ 
ject or citizen. 

The widow and children who are under age at the time that 
an alien who has made his declaration of intention has died with¬ 
out having secured a certificate of naturalization, are exempted 
from the necessity of filing a declaration of intention. 

Not less than two years after an alien has filed 
his declaration of intention, and after not less 
than five years' continuous residence in the 
United States, he may file a petition for citizenship in any of the 
courts which has jurisdiction over the place in which he resides, 
provided he has lived at least one year continuously, immediately 
prior to the filing of such petition, in the state or territory in 
which such place is located. This petition must be signed by the 


Filing 

intentions 


29 


petitioner in his own handwriting and shall give his full name, 
place of residence, occupation, place of birth and date thereof, the 
place from which he emigrated, and the date thereof, the date and 
place of his arrival in the United States. If such arrival occurred 
subsequent to the passage of the act of June 29, 1906, he must 
secure a certificate from the Department of Labor showing the 
fact of such arrival and date and place thereof, for filing with the 
clerk of the court to be attached to his petition. If he is married 
he must state the name of his wife and, if possible, the country of 
her nativity and her place of residence at the time of filing of his 
petition, and if he has children, the name, date and place of birth 
and present place of residence of each living child. The petition 
must set forth that he is not a disbeliever in or opposed to organ¬ 
ized government, or a member of or affiliated with any organiza¬ 
tion or body of persons teaching disbelief in or opposition to or¬ 
ganized government, that he is not a polygamist or a believer in 
the practice of polygamy, and that he absolutely and forever re¬ 
nounces all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign country of which 
he may, at the time of filing such petition, be a citizen or subject. 
This petition must be verified at the time it is filed by the affidavit 
of two credible witnesses, who are citizens of the United States 
and who shall state that they have known the petitioner during 
his entire residence (not exceeding five years) in the state in 
which the petition is filed, which must be not less than one year, 
and that they have known him to be a resident of the United 
States continuously during the five years immediately preceding 
the filing of the petition; that during such time he acted as a man 
of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Consti¬ 
tution of the United States and well disposed to the good order 
and happiness of the same. If a portion of the five years has been 
passed by the petitioner in some other state than that in which he 
resides at the time of filing his petition, the affidavit of the wit¬ 
nesses may verify so much of the petitioner’s residence as has 
been passed in the state (not less than one year) and the portion 
of said five years’ residence out of the state may be shown by dep¬ 
ositions at the time of hearing on the petition. 


30 


No petition may be heard until the expiration of at least ninety 
days after it is filed nor within thirty days preceding a general 
election. At the hearing upon a petition, which shall be at a date 
fixed by order of the court, the witnesses are required to again 
attend and testify in open court so that the judge or judges there¬ 
of may be satisfied that the petitioner is qualified and that he has 
complied with all the requirements of the law. 

Any woman who is now or may hereafter be 
married to a citizen of the United States and 
who might herself be lawfully naturalized, shall 
be deemed a citizen. 

An alien woman becomes a citizen of the United States when 
her husband is naturalized. 

An American woman who marries, or has married since 1907, 
a foreigner takes the nationality of her husband. At the termina¬ 
tion of the married relation, if residing in the United States, by 
continuing to reside therein, she resumes her American citizen¬ 
ship; if abroad, when the marriage relation terminates, by regis¬ 
tering as an American citizen within one year with a consul of 
the United States or by returning to reside in the United States, 
she may resume her American citizenship. 

An American woman who married a foreigner prior to 1907 re¬ 
tained her citizenship so long as she remained in this country. 

Foreign women acquiring American citizenship by marriage to 
an American, retain such American citizenship after the termi¬ 
nation of the marital relation if continuing to reside in the 
United States, unless making formal renunciation thereof before a 
Court having jurisdiction to naturalize aliens. If she resides 
abroad she may continue her citizenship by registering as such be¬ 
fore a United States consul within one year after the termination 
of such marital relations. 

Inasmuch as no person can be a citizen of two countries and 
the wife is by law a citizen of her husband’s country, it follows 
that an alien wife of an alien although dwelling in this country 


Naturalization 
of married 
women 


31 


and otherwise qualified cannot be naturalized. There is consider¬ 
able agitation, especially among women, concerning the loss of cit¬ 
izenship upon marriage to a foreigner. A bill is now pending be¬ 
fore Congress (January, 1921) to allow American women to re¬ 
main American citizens after marriage to a foreigner if they so 


Citizenship 
of children 


desire or elect. 

A child born without the United States of alien 
parents shall be deemed a citizen of the United 
States by virtue of the naturalization or re¬ 
sumption of American citizenship by the parents, if such natural¬ 
ization or resumption takes place during the minority of such child. 

Minor children of foreign parents whose mother after the death 
of the father marries a citizen of the United States, become citi¬ 
zens. 

Children born out of the limits of the United States whose fath¬ 
ers were at the time of their births citizens thereof, are citizens 
of the United States. 

Every American Indian who served in the mili¬ 
tary or naval establishments of the United 
States during the war against the Imperial Ger¬ 
man Government, and who has received or who shall hereafter re¬ 
ceive an honorable discharge, if not now a citizen and if he so de¬ 
sires, shall, on proof of such discharge and after proper identifica¬ 
tion before a court of competent jurisdiction, and without other 
examination except as prescribed by said court, be granted full 
citizenship with all the privileges pertaining thereto, without in 
any manner impairing or otherwise affecting the property rights, 
individual or tribal, of any such Indian or his interest in tribal or 
other Indian property. 


Citizenship 
of Indians 


32 


CHAPTER V. 

NOMINATIONS BY PRIMARY ELECTIONS. 


All nominations of candidates for any state or county office, in¬ 
cluding United States senator, member of congress and member of 
the state legislature, shall be made at and by primary elections. 
Every political party entitled by law to representation upon the 
official ballot shall nominate all its candidates for such offices at 
primary elections, parties means such parties as at the guberna¬ 
torial election next preceding any such primary election polled 
at least one per cent of the entire vote cast in the state for 
governor. 


State 

convention 


Not less than sixty nor more than ninety days 
before the third Monday in June of each year 
in which a state election is held biennially, the 
political parties aforesaid shall each hold a state convention. At 
any such state convention the political party so represented shall 
formulate and adopt its declaration of principles, or platform, for 
the state election then next ensuing, elect a state committee, a dis¬ 
trict committee for each congressional district, and a county com¬ 
mittee for each county, severally of such number and to be elected 
in such manner as the convention may determine. 


City and town All the city, ward, town, plantation and repre- 
committees, sentative class committees of the political par- 

election and ties aforesaid shall be elected in such manner 

tenure and with such tenure of office and duties, as the 

appropriate political party within such city, ward, town, plantation 
or representative class may from time to time determine. Each 
such committee shall fill all vacancies in its membership. 


[ 3 ] 


33 


CHAPTER VI. 

PRIMARY NOMINATION PAPERS. 

Nominations for places on the ballots to be used at primary 
elections shall be made for each of the political parties entitled to 
representation thereon by nomination papers signed in the aggre¬ 
gate for each candidate of each political party by qualified voters 
within the electoral division or district, wherein such candidate 
is to be voted for, in number not less than one per cent nor more 
than two per cent of the entire vote cast for governor in the last 
preceding state election in the state at large, if the office for which 
such candidate is to be voted for is to be filled by the voters of the 
state at large or is for the office of United States senator, other¬ 
wise not less than, one per cent nor more than two per cent of such 
gubernatorial vote within the electoral division or district wherein 
such proposed candidate is to be voted for. All such nomination 
papers shall besides containing the names of the proposed candi¬ 
dates state the name of the office for which he is the proposed can¬ 
didate; the political party which he represents; and his place of 
residence. There shall not be in any nomination paper the name 
of more than one candidate proposed for nomination. Nomination 
papers shall be signed by members of the political party named 
therein for which the nomination is made. Each voter signing a 
nomination paper shall make his signature in person and add to it 
his place of residence. Each voter may subscribe his name to one 
nomination for a candidate for each office to be filled, and no more, 
except in cases where the office is to be filled by more than one per¬ 
son, and in such cases only to the extent of such number. One of 
the signers of each separate paper, or the person circulating the 
same, shall make oath thereon, or by certificate of oath annexed 
thereto, that he believes the signatures are genuine and that the 
persons signing are members of the political party named therein 
and that they reside within the electoral division or district for 
which the nomination is proposed. The state at large shall be con- 


34 


sidered an electoral division provided, that nothing shall make it 
necessary for nomination papers for any candidate to be signed 
in the aggregate by qualified voters greater in number than ten 
per cent of the last gubernatorial vote cast by the party of such 
candidate within the electoral division or district wherein such 
candidate is to be voted for. 


The filing of 

nomination 

papers 


Nomination papers shall be signed before the 
first day of January of the year in which a pri¬ 
mary election is to be held and all such nomina¬ 
tion papers shall be filed with the secretary of 
state on or before the third Monday in April of said year. With 
such nomination papers there shall also be filed the consent in 
writing of the persons so proposed thereby as candidates, agree¬ 
ing to accept the nomination if nominated at the primary election, 
not to withdraw, and if elected at the state election, to qualify as 
such officer. 


Nominations 
for United 
States senators 


Whenever one or more United States senators 
are to be elected at the biennial state election 
held on the second Monday of September, the 
nominee or nominees for such office or offices, of 
each political party, shall be chosen at the primary election held 
on the third Monday in June preceding. Where but one United 
States senator is so to be elected, the nomination papers and official 
ballot shall specify simply the office of United States senator. 
When, however, two United States senators are so to be elected, 
the nomination papers and ballots shall by apt words designate 
the respective terms for which they are to be nominated. 

Not less than seven days before the third Mon¬ 
day of June preceding a biennial state election, 
the selectmen of every town, by their warrant, 
shall notify and warn all legally qualified voters 
to attend at the regular voting places on the 
third Monday in June for the purpose of voting for persons to be 
nominated by their respective political parties as candidates to be 
voted for on the second Monday in September then next ensuing. 


Date of 
primary 
election and 
■warrant 


35 


Qualification 
and enrollment 
of voters 


Nominations 
by petition 


In all such primary elections the qualifications 
of voters in towns and cities of any size shall be 
determined by the lists of voters used at the mu¬ 
nicipal elections in said towns and cities next 
preceding the primary election. In plantations the qualifications 
of voters, as aforesaid, shall be determined by the lists of voters 
used therein at the last preceding state election. 

Nominations of candidates for any office to be 
filled by the voters of the state at large, may 
be made by nomination papers signed in the 
aggregate for each candidate of no less than one thousand quali¬ 
fied voters. Nominations of candidates for electoral districts, 
municipal or ward offices may be made by nomination papers 
signed in the aggregate for each candidate by not less than one 
for every one hundred persons who voted at the next preceding 
gubernatorial election, but in no case less than twenty-five. 

In the case of a first election to be held in a 
plantation, town or ward newly established, 
the number of twenty-five shall be sufficient for 
the nomination of a candidate who is to be 
voted for only in such plantation, town or ward; and in the case 
of a first election in a district or division newly established other 
than a plantation, town or ward, the number of twenty-five shall 
be sufficient. 

Each voter signing a nomination paper shall 
make his signature in person, and add to it his 
place of residence, and each voter may subscribe 
to one nomination for each office to be filled, and no more. 

All certificates of nomination and nomination 
papers shall, besides containing the names of 
candidates, specify as to each, first, the office 
for which he is nominated; second, the party 
or political principle which he represents, ex¬ 
pressed in not more than three words; third, his place of resi¬ 
dence. In the case of electors of president and vice-president of 
the United States, the names of the candidates for president and 


First election 
in new voting 
district 


Signature 
m person 


Contents of 
certificates and 
nomination 
papers 


36 


vice-president may be added to the party or political appellation. 

Vacancies case a can( *idate w ^° ^ as ^ een duly nominat¬ 

ed shall die before the day of election, or shall 
withdraw in writing, the vacancy may be supplied by the political 
party or other persons making the original nomination, or, if the 
time is insufficient, then the vacancy may be supplied, if the nom¬ 
ination was made by a convention or caucus, in such manner as 
the convention or caucus has previously provided for the purpose, 
or in case of no such previous provision, then by a regularly 
elected general or executive committee representing the political 
party or persons holding such convention or caucus. The certifi¬ 
cates of nomination made for supplying any vacancy, shall state, 
in addition to the other facts required, the name of the original 
candidate proposed or the original nominee, and the facts causing 
the vacancy; said certificate shall be accompanied by the with¬ 
drawal, if any, and shall be signed and sworn to by the presiding 
officer or secretary of the convention or caucus, or by the chair¬ 
man or secretary of the duly authorized committee, as the case 
may be. 


37 


CHAPTER VII. 

RETURN OF VOTES AND INSPECTION OF BALLOTS. 
RECORD TO BE CORRECTED TO CONFORM WITH FACT. 


The secretary of state shall furnish blanks for all voting places 
on which to make the returns required hereunder. The names of 
the candidates shall be printed thereon substantially as in the nom¬ 
inating ballot and in the space made for the purpose following 
each name shall be there entered the number of votes received in 
that polling place by each candidate. The ballots shall be sorted 
and the result declared in open plantation, town and ward meet¬ 
ings. Such record shall be separately made for the political par¬ 
ties respectively having proposed nominees upon the ballot and 
shall give the number of votes lawfully cast for each of the nomi¬ 
nees thereon, following as near as practicable the order of the po¬ 
litical parties, officers and nominees thereon, so as to give the de¬ 
tailed result of such voting. Returns thereof shall be attested by 
the selectmen and town clerk in towns, and by the assessors and 
clerk in plantations, in like manner as at the biennial election for 
governor. Such clerks shall cause the returns aforesaid to be de¬ 
livered at the office of the secretary of state, by mail or otherwise, 
within seven days after such primary election. In cities, the war¬ 
den shall preside, as required by law at state elections, receive the 
votes of all qualified voters present, and, as herein required in case 
of town meetings, sort, count and declare the results in open ward 
meetings, and in the presence of the ward clerk, who shall make 
return and a record thereof, as in towns, and a fair copy of the 
record shall be attested by the warden and the ward clerk, sealed 
up in open ward meeting and delivered to the city clerk, within 
twenty-four hours after the closing of the polls. And the aider- 
men of each city shall be in session within twenty-four hours after 
the close of the polls in such meetings, and in the presence of the 


38 


city clerk shall open, examine and compare the copies from the lists 
of votes given in the several wards, of which the city clerk shall 
make a record and return thereof shall be made into the office of 
the secretary of state in the same manner as selectmen of towns 
are required to do hereunder. 


The clerk of each city, town or plantation shall permit any can¬ 
didate or his agent to inspect the ballots cast at any primary elec¬ 
tion after the same have been returned to him, under such reason¬ 
able regulations and restrictions consistent with the right of in¬ 
spection as will secure every ballot from loss, injury or change in 
any respect. Such inspection shall be permitted only after written 
notice by the clerk to the town or ward officers who signed the re¬ 
turns of the election and to the other contesting candidates, suffi¬ 
cient to enable them to be present in person or by agent at the in¬ 
spection. After each inspection the packages shall be again sealed 
and the fact and date of inspection noted on the package. Upon 
written application filed with the secretary of state within ten days 
after the returns are opened and tabulated, alleging that the re¬ 
turn or record of the vote cast in any town does not correctly state 
the vote as actually cast in such town, and specifying the offices 
as to which such errors are believed to have occurred, the secretary 
of state shall direct such clerk to forward to him forthwith the bal¬ 
lots cast in the town. The governor and council in open meeting 
shall examine the ballots cast in the town, and return to the secre¬ 
tary of state, and if such return or record is found to be erroneous 
the return shall be corrected in accordance with the number of 
ballots found to have been actually cast in the town; but no such 
examination of the ballots shall be made without reasonable notice 
to all candidates upon the ballot for the offices specified in the ap¬ 
plication as to which such errors are alleged to have occurred, stat¬ 
ing when and where such examination will be made and affording 
such candidates a reasonable opportunity to be present in person 
or by counsel at such examination and be heard in relation thereto. 

The governor and council by the first Tuesday of 
July in each year in which a primary election 
is held hereunder, shall open and compare the 


Canvass of 
returns 


39 


votes so returned hereunder, and have the same tabulated, and 
forthwith thereafter have forwarded to each candidate a copy ot 
the tabulations of his precinct or district, and may receive testi¬ 
mony on oath to prove that the returns from any city, town or 
plantation does not agree with the record of the vote of such city, 
town or plantation, in the number of votes or the names of the per¬ 
sons voted for, and to prove which of them is correct; and the re¬ 
turn, when found to be erroneous, may be corrected by the rec¬ 
ord. No such correction can be made without application within 
fourteen days after the returns are opened and tabulated, stating 
the error alleged, nor without reasonable notice thereof given to 
the person affected by such correction, and during the fourteen 
days any person voted for may personally, and by or with counsel, 
examine the returns in the presence of the governor and council, 
or either of them, or any member of the council, or the secretary 
of state. The person having the highest number of votes for nom¬ 
ination to any office shall be deemed to have been nominated by 
his political party for that office, provided, that when a tie shall 
exist between two or more persons for the same nomination by 
reason of the two or more persons having an equal and the highest 
number of votes for nomination by one party to one and the same 
office, the secretary of state shall give notice to the several persons 
so having the highest and equal number of votes to attend at the 
office of the secretary of state at a time to be appointed by said sec¬ 
retary, who shall then and there proceed publicly to decide by lot 
which of the persons so having an equal number of votes shall be 
declared nominated by his party with like effect as if there had 

Every candidate so nominated and notified as 
aforesaid, shall within seven days after the re¬ 
ceipt of such notification, send to the secretary 
of state, by registered mail the following ac¬ 
ceptance : 


been no such tie. 

Candidate to 
file acceptance 
end expense 
account 


40 


To the Secretary of State: 

I,.of. 

hereby accept the nomination to the office of 

.made at the primary election June 

.19 


Return of 
expenditures 


Penalty for 
bribery 


The name of any candidate failing to file such acceptance shall 
not be printed upon the official ballot to be used at the state elec¬ 
tion and failure to file such acceptance within said seven days 
shall be deemed to be a refusal thereof. 

Each candidate, so nominated, shall, with such 
acceptance, send to the secretary of state a re¬ 
turn of expenditures by him subscribed and 
sworn to. The returns aforesaid shall be open to public inspection 
for one year and then be destroyed. The failure of any candidate 
1o file a return within the required time shall render his nomina¬ 
tion void. 

No person, firm or corporation shall directly or 
indirectly or by any device whatsoever pay any 
sum, or incur any liability, to procure or to aid 
in the procurement of the nomination of any candidate so to be 
voted for as aforesaid at any primary election without the knowl¬ 
edge and consent of such candidate. Whoever violates the pro¬ 
visions of this section forfeits five hundred dollars to be recovered 
by indictment. 

The expenditures to be made, and liabilities in¬ 
curred, for which returns are to be made as 
hereinbefore provided, shall not exceed in 
amount for each candidate the following: In case of nominations 
for any office to be filled by the voters of the state one thousand 
five hundred dollars, for members of congress five hundred dollars, 
for state senators and county officers one hundred and fifty dol¬ 
lars for each ten thousand votes cast for governor within the coun¬ 
ty at the last preceding gubernatorial election or fraction thereof, 
for members, of legislature in representative districts having three 
representatives or more than one hundred dollars, in other repre- 


Expenses 

limited 


41 







sentative districts fifty dollars, for United States senator one thou¬ 
sand five hundred dollars. Whenever such expenditures and lia¬ 
bilities exceed the foregoing limitations, upon proof thereof to the 
satisfaction of the secretary of state, after complaint, notice and 
hearing, or upon the admission of the fact, by the candidate in his 
return, the finding of such fact by the secretary of state shall be 
deemed to be a withdrawal of such candidate and the vacancy shall 
be filled in like manner as if such candidate had filed a withdrawal 
in writing. 


. In case any candidate, except for the United 
ow vacancies states senate, who has been duly nominated as 
tnay e fi e the result of any primary election hereunder, 

shall die before the day of the gubernatorial election, or shall with¬ 
draw in writing, or shall forfeit his nomination by failure to ac¬ 
cept, or to file return as provided hereinbefore, the vacancy may 
be supplied by the political party of such nominee by any conven¬ 
tion of delegates or appropriate caucus, or, if the time is insuffi¬ 
cient therefor, then the vacancy may be supplied by the regularly 
elected state, congressional district, county, town, city, plantation 
or representative class committee, as the case may be, of such po¬ 
litical party. Certificates for supplying the vacancy and the man¬ 
ner of placing the name of the nominee upon the ballots shall con¬ 
form to the provisions of section thirty-five of the Revised Statutes. 


42 


CHAPTER VIII. 

CAUCUS. 


Enrollment 

required 


No person shall take part or vote in any caucus 
of any political party unless qualified therefor 
by enrollment as hereinafter provided. 


New enrollment Any person who is a legal voter may enroll him¬ 
self as a member of any political party by filing 
with the clerk of the town of which he is a legal voter a declara¬ 
tion in writing, signed by him, substantially as follows: “I, , 


being a legal voter of , hereby elect to be enrolled as a mem¬ 
ber of the party. The following statement of name, resi¬ 


dence, place of last enrollment if any, and party of last enroll¬ 
ment, if any, is true.” A new enrollment may be made at any 
time, but the person making such new enrollment shall not vote 
in any political caucus within six months thereafter if he desig¬ 
nates a different political party from that named by him in the 
preceding enrollment. 


The clerk of the town where the enrollment is 
made, as above provided, shall receive and file 
the same, indorsing thereon the date of filing, 
and shall record the name, residence, place of 


Clerk shall 

record 

enrollment 


last enrollment and date of filing, in a separate book for the en¬ 
rollment of members of each political party, entering the names 
alphabetically. 


All votes for the election of delegates to any 
political convention for the nomination of a 
candidate for any public office shall be by 



ballot, written or printed, on plain paper. 

Restrictions No person shall vote or offer to vote more than 

on voting once for any candidate or delegate or set of 


delegates in any one caucus, nor shall he vote or offer to vote in 
any one caucus held in any caucus district in which he shall not 


43 


Notices of 
caucuses 


at the same time be a legal voter. No person shall vote or offer 
to vote in any caucus where candidates or delegates are to bo 
chosen, if he has already voted at the caucus of any other political 
party in the past six months. 

No person whose right to vote is challenged 
^ e shall be allowed to vote until he shall have taken 

1 a y the following oath, which shall be administered 

c a edge by the chairman of the caucus: “You do sol- 

voters 

emnly swear that you are a qualified voter in 
this town or ward, and have the legal right to vote in this caucus; 
that you are a member of the political party holding the same and 
intend to vote for its candidates at the election next ensuing, and 
that you have not taken part or voted at the caucus of any other 
political party in the six months last past.” The secretary of the 
caucus shall make a record of the administration of such oath. 

Notice of caucuses, signed by the chairman and 
secretary, or by a majority of the committee 
shall be issued by each town committee not less 
than seven days prior to the day on which the caucuses are to be 
held. They shall be conspicuously posted in at least five places or 
the highways of each voting precinct, and shall state the place 
day and hour of holding such caucuses. In case voting is by 
check list a sufficient time shall be allowed for all to vote, and the 
call for the caucus shall state the hours fixed by the committee for 
the opening and closing of the polls. 

Voting lists as used in the election next preced¬ 
ing any caucus, shall be used as check lists, at 
such caucuses, if the town committee shall so 
determine and provide in the call, and such committee shall be 
required to provide for the use of such list upon written request 
filed with the chairman or clerk of the committee, at any time be¬ 
fore the call is posted, of voters of the party, to the number of 
not less than twenty in towns of two thousand and not exceeding 
five thousand inhabitants; and of not less than fifty in towns of 
five thousand or more inhabitants, according to the last official 
census of the United States. 


Check lists . 
use of 


44 


CHAPTER IX. 


RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND MINORS. 


Property 

Rights 


A married woman has the sole control of her 
separate property in Maine, such separate 
property consisting of whatever she possessed 
before marriage or she became possessed of after marriage un¬ 
less purchased with her husband’s money or coming from him so 
as to defend him from his creditors. She cannot convey property 
which she acquired through her husband, or his relations unless 
he joins in the conveyance. She may engage in trade as a public 
merchant and her property is liable for her contracts, but the 
property of her husband is not liable for such contracts unless he 
profited thereby or joined in the obligation. The survivor is en¬ 
titled to one-third of the real estate, if there are children, and 
if there is no issue, then to one-half. 

There is an inheritance tax on property pass¬ 
ing to husband, wife, ancestor, descendant, 
son-in-law, daughter-in-law, of one per cent on 
amounts up to $50,000, and $10,000 is exempt to husband, wife 
and minor child. Property which shall pass to a brother, sister, 
uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or cousin of a decedent, shall be sub¬ 
ject to a tax of four per cent on bequests in excess of $500 and 
not exceeding $50,000. Property passing to any others shall be 
subject to a tax of five per cent of value not exceeding $50,000. 

No female shall, except in cases of emergency 
or extraordinary public requirement, be em¬ 
ployed or permitted to work for more than six 
hours continuously at one time without an interval of at least one 
hour; except that such female may be so employed for not more 
than six and one-half hours continuously at one time if such em¬ 
ployment ends not later than half-past one o’clock in the after¬ 
noon and if she is then dismissed for the remainder of the day. 


Inheritance 

Tax 


Women’s 
Hours of Work 


45 


Employment 
of Minors 


Seats must be provided for women working in mercantile estab¬ 
lishments, hotels, restaurants, etc. 

Minors under fourteen are prohibited from 
working in mills, factories and mercantile es¬ 
tablishments, or at any gainful occupation dur¬ 
ing school hours. Minors under sixteen being so employed must 
produce a school certificate showing they can read and write 
simple English sentences. Minors under sixteen are prohibited 
from working in places dangerous to life, limbs and morals. The 
guardianship of children is due equally to the mother and father 
No male minor under sixteen years of age, and 
no female shall be employed more than fifty- 
four hours in a week. No minor under six¬ 
teen years of age shall be employed or permitted to work before 
the hour of six-thirty o’clock in the morning, or after the hour of 
six o’clock in the evening of any one day. 


Hours of 
Employment 


46 


PART III. 


LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


47 





























• V 














































































CHAPTER I. 

TOWN GOVERNMENT. 

The towns are all incorporated under uniform state laws. There 
are 434 organized towns in Maine. The town meeting, at which 
all citizens with a voting residence have a voice, is the legislative 
body and is an example of the purest form of democratic govern¬ 
ment. At the town meeting are chosen the officers of the town, 
money is raised and appropriated for town business. The chief 
officials are the selectmen, whose number may be three, five or 
seven, the town clerk, treasurer, .collector of taxes, the road com¬ 
missioner, school committee, superintendent of schools, who serves 
for several towns, and the board of health. 

In Maine the town absorbs most of the functions of local gov¬ 
ernment. In the statutes, the word town includes cities and plan¬ 
tations unless the contrary is expressed or implied, and the term 
municipal officer includes not only the selectmen of towns, but 
also the mayor and aldermen of cities and the assessors of plan¬ 
tations. 

The inhabitants of each town are a body corporate, capable of 
suing and being sued, and with the right of appointing attorneys 
and agents. The act of incorporation by the legislature defines the 
boundaries of the town, and the boundaries may be subsequently 
changed by the legislature with or without the consent of the town. 

The legal body of the town is the town meeting, 
in which every qualified voter is entitled to par¬ 
ticipate. The town meeting chooses all the elective officers, raises 
and appropriates money and makes regulations for the conduct 
of all town business. The regular town meeting is usually held 
in March, but special meetings may be called from time to time as 
occasion requires. The call for the meeting is in the form of a 
warrant drawn up by the selectmen and posted by a constable in 
some public place in the town. The warrant specifies the various 
items of business to be performed, and only such matters as are 


Town meeting 


[ 4 ] 


49 


Selectmen 


stated in the warrant can be considered and acted on by the meet¬ 
ing. The warrant must be posted at least seven days before the 
meeting is called. The town meeting is called to order by the 
town clerk, who reads the warrant. Next in order is the choice 
of a moderator. A town clerk is then chosen. The articles of 
the warrant are then taken up one by one, the election by ballot 
of the town officers being the first business in order. 

The executive officers of the town are the se¬ 
lectmen, usually three in number, chosen by 
ballot. They have charge of money voted by the town for partic¬ 
ular or general purposes, and have oversight of the buildings and 
other property of the town. If the town does not elect assessors 
of taxes and overseers of the poor, the selectmen may perform the 
duties of those officers. They prepare a list of registered voters 
and act as supervisors of elections. They license auctioneers, etc., 
locate ways and bridges, and grant the use of the town ways to 
railroad and other companies. Any duties not by law devolved 
upon some other officer of the town may be performed by the se¬ 
lectmen. 

The town clerk is the recording and registering 
officer of the town. He issues licenses and per¬ 
mits, and keeps a record of marriages, births and deaths. 

The valuation of real and personal property of 
the town and the assessment upon individuals 
and corporations of their proportion of the annual tax, is entrust¬ 
ed to a board of assessors. 

When the assessment is completed, the list is 
committed to the collector, whose duty it is to 


Town clerk 


Assessors 


Colletcor 
collect the tax. 
Treasurer 
selectmen. 


The treasurer receives all the money collected 
by the town, and pays it out on orders from the 


Road 

Commissioner 


For the care and maintenance of roads and 
bridges, the town may elect a road commission¬ 
er, to hold office for one year and to have entire 
charge of the repairs of highways and bridges. If the town fails 

50 


to elect a road commissioner, the money raised for ways and brid¬ 
ges is expended under the direction of the selectmen. 

Schools The sc ^ 00 ^ s the town are under the control 

of a superintending school committee, who are 
elected by the town. The management of the schools and the cus¬ 
tody and care of the school property of the town are devolved 
upon the superintending school committee. The members of the 
committee are three in number, and are elected by the town for 
three years, the terms of office being so arranged that one member 
retires annually. 

The executive officer of the committee is the superintendent of 
schools. The superintendent may be chosen at the town meeting, 
or may be appointed by the committee. Towns having not less than 
twenty-five nor more than fifty schools may unite in the employ¬ 
ment of a superintendent, the state in such case making an addi¬ 
tional grant for salary. Superintendents chosen by a union of 
towns must devote all their time to the duties of their office. The 
term of office of the superintendent, whether for a town or for a 
group of towns, is one year. The superintendent is secretary of 
the committee, and makes all reports and returns relating to the 
town schools which are not by law required to be made by the 
committee. He is expected to supervise and direct the method of 
instruction and discipline, and act in general as the educational 
leader of the community. He is required to visit each school at 
least twice each term. The annual school census is taken under 
his direction. 

Text-books and supplies are provided by the town without cost 
to the pupils. The selection of books rests with the committee 
and superintendent. The building and repair of schoolhouses are 
under the direction of the committee, and the fixings of sites for 
school buildings requires their approval. The minimum length of 
the school year is fixed by statute at twenty weeks, but any town 
may, and many do, provide for the maintenance of schools for a 
longer period. 

The public schools are open to all persons between the ages of 
five and twenty-one years; every child between the ages of seven 


51 


and fourteen, inclusive, shall attend some public day school during 
the time such school is in session; provided that necessary ab¬ 
sence may be excused by the superintending school committee or 
superintendent of schools, or teacher acting under direction of 
either. Such attendance shall not be required if the child obtains 
equivalent instruction, for a like period of time, in an approved 
private school. A child absent without excuse six or more con¬ 
secutive sessions during any term, is regarded as an “habitual 
truant,” and may be arrested and taken to school, the persons re¬ 
sponsible for the absence being also liable to prosecution. 

While the general provisions of law regarding schools apply to 
cities as well as to towns, the special provisions of the city charter 
create numerous exceptions. School committees in cities are usual¬ 
ly larger than those in towns, and are elected sometimes from 
wards, sometimes on a general ticket, the former being the pre¬ 
vailing method. 

The provision of schools in unincorporated places is devolved 
upon the State superintendent, who may establish schools or send 
children to schools in adjoining places. The expense is met, first, 
from the income of the reserved fund of the township, and sec¬ 
ond, from the proceeds of a per capita tax of twenty-five cents on 
each inhabitant of the township. If these resources are insuffi¬ 
cient, the remainder is provided for out of a regular state appro¬ 
priation. Persons of school age, living at any light station not 
embraced within the limits of any school district, are admitted 
without tuition charge to any public school in the State. 

Besides the foregoing officers of the town, a 
considerable number of other officers may be 
chosen at the town meeting. Among these are: 


Elected by school committee to enforce attendance at 
school. Now designated by law as “probation officer.” 
One or more in each town. 


Minor Town 
Officers 

Truant Officer 


52 


Fish and Game Warden 

Any town in which there is a lake or pond stocked by the 
state may elect an inland fish and game warden with all 
the powers of other inland fish and game wardens. 

Inspector of Milk 

In towns of not less than three thousand inhabitants, 
and in towns of less than that number on application of 
ten voters therein, the municipal officers shall appoint 
annually one or more persons to be inspectors of milk, 
cream, butter and all other dairy products. 

Inspector of Buildings 

His duty is to inspect buildings under process of con¬ 
struction or repair to insure against fire and other dan¬ 
gers. Elected annually in towns of more than two thou¬ 
sand inhabitants and in towns of less if voters so decide. 

Harbor Master 

Towns may appoint on request. He shall keep open 
channels for passage of vessels in waterways of his 
town, establish boundary lines of such channels and as¬ 
sign mooring and anchorage privileges. 

Port Warden 

Elected in any town situated on navigable waters, upon 
petition of ten or more citizens engaged in commercial 
pursuits therein. His duty is to inspect upon request 
cargoes of arriving vessels, noting extent of any damage, 
condition of vessel, etc. 

Inspector of Flour 

Municipal officers may appoint one or more. Upon re¬ 
quest of buyer or seller he inspects flour offered for sale 
to ascertain its soundness. 


53 


Inspector of Leather 

Municipal officers may, when they deem it expedient, 
appoint one or more suitable inspectors of sole leather. 
They shall, when requested, inspect any sides of sole 
leather which have not been inspected in this state ac¬ 
cording to law. 

Fire Wardens 

Selectmen are forest fire wardens in their towns. 

Road Commissioner 

Not more than three in a town. Chosen by selectmen. 
Fence Viewers 

Have jurisdiction of fences and ditches. Two or more 
elected in each town at annual meeting. 

Constable 

The peace officer of the town. His duty is to arrest vio¬ 
lators of the law and to execute writs and warrants. 

Sealer of Weights and Measures 

Appointed annually by municipal officers. Must inspect 
and seal or condemn weights, measures, balances and 
measuring devices. Makes annual report to state sealer. 

Surveyors of Logs 

Surveyors of logs may, upon request, inspect, survey and 
measure all mill logs floated or brought to market or of¬ 
fered for sale in their towns. 

Surveyors of Wood and Bark 

Towns may regulate measure and sale of wood, coal and 
bark therein and location of teams hauling same. In 
such case a sworn measurer measures and certifies. 

Weighers of Coal 

On request of purchaser coal shall be weighed by a sworn 
weigher unless it is sold by the cargo. 


54 


Surveyors of Clapboards 

One or more in each town. Must survey and measure all 
shingles and clapboards offered for sale and brand qual¬ 
ity on hoop or band of bundle. 

Culler of Staves 

All staves packed for sale or export must be viewed or 
branded by an officer elected for that purpose and a cer¬ 
tificate thereof given by him. One or more in each town 
and two or more in towns having ports of delivery. 

Surveyors of Lumber 

All boards, plank, timber and joist, offered for sale, shall, 
before delivery, be surveyed by a sworn surveyor there¬ 
of. If he has doubts of the dimensions, he must measure 
and mark contents thereon. 


Pound Keeper 

His duty is to round up cattle and other animals which 
are trespassing or at large in violation of law. 

Overseer of Poor 

In charge of relief for all destitute persons in town. 


Powers of 
the town 


The powers of the town are regulated by sta¬ 
tute, most of the regulation, taking the form 
of general laws. As a municipal corporation 
it may receive gifts or bequests in trust for benevolent, educa¬ 
tional, or religious purposes. 

The plantation is a rudimentary town and has 
Plantation a p the essential machinery that towns possess, 

but in a simplified form. Plantations may be organized for school 
purposes alone. The officials are the same as for towns except 
that three assessors take the place of selectmen. There are sixty- 
four of these plantations in Maine. 

There is in Maine in addition to cities, towns 
Unorganized an( j p i an t a tions, another local unit called an un- 


Township 


organized township, which is sometimes con- 


55 


fused in the popular mind with the plantation. It is, however, 
entirely distinct and as the name suggests is without a local form 
of government and consequently with no local officials and no local 
taxation. Many of these townships have a population of consid¬ 
erable size and have schools and roads. The schools come under 
the direct supervision of the State Department of Education while 
the roads are under the direction of the county commissioners. The 
unorganized townships occupy about one-half of the area of the 
state, or to be more exact, forty-seven per cent. There are 376 
unorganized townships in Maine, fourteen other smaller unorgan¬ 
ized divisions and one hundred and forty-three islands not a part 
of any municipality. 




56 


CHAPTER II. 

CITY GOVERNMENT. 


Government 
of the city 


Cities are formed, whenever the people of the 
town desire it, with the consent of the legis¬ 
lature. There were twenty cities in the State 


of Maine January 1, 1921. The act of the legislature incorporat¬ 
ing a city is called its charter. The charter is drawn up by a 
committee and presented to the legislature, the consent of the town 
having been previously given in a town meeting. The charter 
defines the boundaries of the proposed city, outlines its form of 
government, and provides for putting the new government into 
operation. When the charter has passed the legislature, it is sub¬ 
mitted to the people of the town for acceptance or rejection. The 
form of government and method of administration of the city is 
laid down in its charter. The charter, therefore, stands as the 
fundamental law for the city. City government is representative 
government, while town government is popular government. The 
governing body of the city is usually the aldermen, common coun¬ 
cil, and the mayor, who are elected by the people. The number 
of aldermen varies from five to ten, the number of councilmen 
being either two or three times as many. For electoral purposes, 
each city is divided into wards, which are numbered. Each ward 
elects one alderman, and if there be also a common council, either 
two or three councilmen. 

The powers and duties of the aldermen and council embrace the 
oversight and direction of all the affairs of the city. They com¬ 
prise most of the powers and duties of towns, including those ex¬ 
ercised by selectmen. The most important powers naturally, are 
those over taxation and finance; but the aldermen and council 
share with the mayor considerable powers over appointments to 
office and the granting of privileges and franchises. For the more 
systematic performance of its duties each body chooses a presiding 


57 


Commission 

Plan 


officer and clerk, and commonly appoints from its own number var¬ 
ious committees, each of which is given special oversight of some 
department of the municipal business. Matters brought before 
the aldermen and council go through a procedure similar to that 
through which a bill passes in the legislature, but the votes are 
generally spoken of as orders, resolutions, or ordinances. 

At the head of the executive department of the 

M n J y()'F 

u city government is the mayor, who is elected an¬ 

nually by popular vote. He usually has the right of appointing a 
number of officials, among them the heads of the fire and police 
departments, but his appointments generally require the confirma¬ 
tion of the board of aldermen. Measures passed by the aldermen 
or common council require his approval and he may veto them. 

One city in Maine (Gardiner) has the commis¬ 
sion plan of government. The plan involves the 
concentration of full responsibilities upon a lim¬ 
ited council, three in number, elected at large, and thereby respon¬ 
sible to the entire electorate of the city. It provides for the elec¬ 
tion of the councilmen-at-large. Each member of the commission 
is in charge of one of the departments, such as police, public 
works, and so on. 

Another city (Auburn) is under the city man¬ 
ager plan. The city manager plan of municipal 
government means government by a single elec¬ 
tive council or commission representative, supervisory, and legis¬ 
lative in function; and a chief executive called a “city manager” 
appointed by the commission solely by reason of his knowledge of 
municipal affairs and administrative ability, to have control of the 
work of administrative departments. 

The executive officers associated with the mayor are the treas¬ 
urer and collector, auditor, city physician, chief of police, assess¬ 
ors, chief of the fire department, overseers of the poor, board of 
health, and inspectors. The city solicitor is the legal adviser of 
the city and its representative in the courts, while the registration 
of voters is intrusted to a board of registration. 

The judicial part of the city government is represented by the 

58 


City Manager 
Plan 


municipal court. The municipal court is created by special act of 
the legislature, which also defines the jurisdiction of the court and 
its duties so far as these are not provided for by general laws. The 
judge of the court is appointed by the governor and council and 
holds office for four years. 


« 


59 


CHAPTER III. 


COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 


County 

Commissioner 


The county is the intermediate organization between the state 
government and the cities and towns. The boundaries of a county 
are determined by law, and every portion of the state is in some 
county. A town or city is chosen as the shire town or county seat, 
and here are erected the buildings necessary for the conduct of 
county business, the court house and the jail. 

The administrative functions of the county are 
exercised by the county commissioners. They 
are three in number, and are elected for a term 
of six years. It is arranged so that one member is elected every 
two years. The commissioners make estimates on the amount 
of money necessary to carry on the county business; see that taxes 
are assessed to provide these funds and have supervision of their 
expenditure. They have authority to lay out new roads and de¬ 
termine their location under certain circumstances, and in unin¬ 
corporated townships have general charge of all roads. In some 
cases they sit as a court of appeal where land damage for public 
work is in dispute. 

The county treasurer, chosen every two years 
by popular vote, has the care of the money of 
the county, much as the treasurer of the town has the care of the 
money of the town# Most of the county receipts come from the 
towns, who pay county taxes to the treasurer, and from the sheriff 
and clerk of courts, who are required to turn over to the treasurer 
the proceeds of fines and other legal charges received by them. 
As the duties of the treasurer thus touch both the financial and 
the judicial side of the county business, he makes reports to both 
the attorney-general and the state treasurer. 

Judge of The judge of probate is elected by popular vote 

Probate (and is the only judge not appointed by the gov- 


i reasurer 


60 


ernor) and serves for four years. The judge of probate deals with 
the administration and settlement of estates of deceased persons 
and bankrupts. They also have certain duties in relation to or¬ 
phan children. 


The register of probate is elected for four years. 
There is one register for each county. It is the 
duty of the register to keep a record of all busi¬ 
ness which comes under the jurisdiction of the probate court. 

The register of deeds is elected for four years. 
He is charged with the duty of recording all 
deeds in the transfer of property and also rec¬ 
ords of all mortgages and attachments. The counties of Aroostook 
and Oxford have two registers of deeds, as each county is divided 
into two districts. 


Register of 
Probate 


Register of 
Deeds 


Clerk of 
Courts 


The clerk of courts is elected for a term of four 
years. He keeps all court records and papers, 
and is also clerk for the county commissioners. 
He keeps a true and exact account of all moneys which he receives, 
or is entitled to receive, for services by virtue of his office, and 
pays the same to the county treasurer. He must furnish to the 
attorney-general full copies of all cases described in section forty- 
six of chapter eighty-two of the Revised Statutes, in which the 
state is a party, thirty days before the session of the law court 
for that district. When the papers in such cases are not filed 
more than thirty days before such session, they shall be furnished 
by the secretary of state in a suitable book; and such record, and 
also copies thereof duly attested by him, are legal, but not con¬ 
clusive evidence of the due appointment and qualification of all 
such officers. He also records in a book kept for that purpose, 
properly indexed, certificates of discharge of soldiers and seamen 
from the army and navy of the United States; certified copies from 
such record, when the originals are lost, shall be evidence in court, 
and in the absence of other proof, have the same effect as the 
originals. 

After the rendition of final judgment or decree in any civil case 
at law or in equity, the clerk makes such record thereof as the 


61 


County 

Attorneys 


court by general rule or special order may direct. If either party, 
however, files a request and tenders the fees therefor, a full ex¬ 
tended record shall be made. The supreme judicial court may es¬ 
tablish the form of such full extended record. 

The county attorneys are elected by popular 
vote and hold office for two years. None but a 
permanent resident of the county shall hold such 
office, and removal therefrom vacates the office. The county at¬ 
torney in each county shall appear for the county, under the direc¬ 
tion of the county commissioner, in all suits and other civil pro¬ 
ceedings in which the county is a party or interested, or in which 
the official acts and doings of said county commissioners are called 
in question, in all the courts of the state, and in such suits and pro¬ 
ceedings before any other tribunal when requested by said com¬ 
missioners. All such suits and proceedings shall be prosecuted by 
him or under his direction. Writs, summonses, or other processes 
served upon the county or said commissioners shall forthwith be 
transmitted by them to him. The county commissioners may em¬ 
ploy other counsel if in their judgment the public interest so re¬ 
quires. For the services herein mentioned the county attorney 
shall receive no compensation other than the salary from the state, 
except actual expenses when performing said services, the same 
to be audited by the county commissioners and paid from the 
county treasury. This section, however, shall in no way relate to 
or give the county attorney control of litigation in which the coun¬ 
ty is not financially interested although the official acts and doings 
of the county commissioners may be called in question. 

The county attorney attends all criminal terms held in his 
county, and acts for the state in all cases in which the state or 
county is a party or interested, and in the absence of the attorney- 
general from a term in the county, performs his duties in state 
cases under directions from him, in the county, and he appears 
and acts for the state with the attorney-general, in the law court, 
in all cases coming into said court from his county; but no addi¬ 
tional compensation shall accrue to the county attorney by the dis¬ 
charge of such duties. 


62 


He enforces the collection and payment to the county treasurer, 
of all fines, forfeitures and costs, accruing to the. state, and the 
faithful performance of their duties by sheriffs, coroners and con¬ 
stables, and gives information to the court of their defaults in this 
respect. 


Sheriff 


Medical 

Examiner 


The sheriff is chosen for two years by popular 
vote. His duties include both criminal and civil 
business. He has charge of the county jail. The sheriff may sup¬ 
press any unlawful assembly, and arrest and detain any one found 
violating any law. He appoints deputies in various parts of the 
county and obeys the orders of the governor relating to the en¬ 
forcement of laws. The sheriff has the power of a game warden. 
He may also call for the aid of the militia. 

A medical examiner is appointed for each county 
by the governor, with the consent and advice of 
his council. The law authorizes the appointment 
of more than one medical examiner for each county, if in the judg¬ 
ment of the appointing power such appointments are necessary. It 
is the duty of the medical examiner to inquire into the cause of 
the death of persons who die suddenly, mysteriously or by violence. 
To make such investigation, a medical examiner has power to 
summon a jury, to examine witnesses, and determine, as far as 
possible, the cause of the death of the deceased. The finding of 
the jury must be reported to the county clerk. The coroner has the 
same power as a justice of the peace to issue his warrant for the 
arrest of any person charged by the jury with being accessory to 
the death of the person upon whose body inquest has been held. 

Any county may request the governor to appoint 
a probation officer, whose duty is to have charge 
of prisoners who have been released by the 
courts under a suspended sentence and oversight of minors who 
have been found guilty of some offense, but whom the court judges 
think should not be imprisoned. These persons are placed in 
charge of the probation officer and they must report to him from 
time to time. 


Probation 

Officer 


63 



PART IV. 


STATE GOVERNMENT. 








































66 















\ 
















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' 


V 














* 
































































I 













I 
















% 













































CHAPTER I. 

ELECTIONS IN MAINE. 


Presidential 

Election 


Every fourth year on the Tuesday after the first 
Monday in November, the voters of Maine elect 
the six electors of the President and Vice-Presi¬ 


dent of the United States. The United States Constitution pro¬ 
vides that the President and Vice-President shall be elected by the 
votes of the chosen electors. 

Each state is entitled to as many presidential electors as it has 
Senators and Representatives in Congress. At the presidential 
election the people vote for the electors and not for the president. 
The electoral candidates of each party are pledged to vote for the 
national party candidate. 

The electors convene in the Senate Chamber at Augusta on the 
Saturday preceding the second Monday of January next after the 
election. On the Monday following they vote for President and 
Vice-President. If any elector is not present at that time, the elec* 
tors present shall proceed to elect by a majority vote. 

They shall appoint a messenger to deliver one of the certificates 
(sealed) at Washington to the President of the Senate before the 
fourth Monday in January. They shall send a second by mail. A 
third certificate shall be delivered by messenger to the Judge of 
the District Court of the United States. 


The state election is held every two years on the 
second Monday in September of the even num- 


State Election 


bered years. 

United States 
Senators 


Each state is represented in the United States 
Senate by two Senators. They are elected for 
a term of six years. Senators are nominated by 


the voters at the primary election held on the third Monday in 
June preceding the biennial election held on the second Monday 
of September. The next United States Senator in Maine will be 


67 


elected in 1922. When vacancies occur the Governor shall issue 
writs of election to fill the vacancy; provided, that the legislature 
of any state may empower the executive thereof to make tempora¬ 
lly appointment until the people fill the vacancies by election as the 
legislature may direct. (At this date the legislature has not em¬ 
powered the Governor to appoint United States Senators.) 

Maine has four congressmen, each elected for 
Rep? esentatwes twQ yearg Each congressman represents a dis- 
to Congress trict. The districts are made by uniting the 

counties. They are as follows: 

First District—York and Cumberland Counties. 

Second District—Androscoggin, Franklin, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford 
and Sagadahoc Counties. 

Third District—Hancock, Kennebec, Somerset, Waldo and Wash- 
ington Counties. 

Fourth District—Aroostook, Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties. 

The Governor is elected biennially and holds of¬ 
fice two years from the first Wednesday of Jan¬ 
uary of each year. The Governor at the commencement of his 
term, must be not less than thirty years of age; a natural born 
citizen of the United States, have been five years a resident of the 
State; and at the time of his election and during the term for 
which he is elected, be a resident of said State. 

The Governor is commander-in-chief of the army and navy of 
the State and of the militia, except when called into the actual ser¬ 
vice of the United States. He nominates, and, with the advice and 
consent of the council, appoints all judicial officers, coroners, and 
notaries public; and he also nominates, and with the advice and 
consent of the council, appoints all other civil and military officers, 
whose appointment is not otherwise provided for; and every such 
nomination shall be made seven days, at least, prior to such ap¬ 
pointment. 

* The National House of Representatives having voted, 198 to 77, against increas¬ 
ing its present membership of 435, the reapportionment bill will probobly reduce 
Maine’s representation to three in 1923. (Jan. 19, 1921.) 

68 


The Governor from time to time gives the Legislature informa¬ 
tion of the condition of the State, and recommends to their consid¬ 
eration such measures, as he may judge expedient. He may re¬ 
quire information from any military officer qr any officer in the 
executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of 
their respective offices. He has power, with the advice and con¬ 
sent of the council, to remit, after conviction, all forfeitures and 
penalties, and to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment. 

The Governor is the chairman of the Budget Committee. He 
may convene the Legislature; and in cases of disagreement be¬ 
tween the two houses with respect to the time of adjournment, 
adjourn them to such time as he may think proper, not beyond the 
day of the next meeting. 

Whenever the office of Governor becomes vacant, the president 
of the Senate shall exercise the office of Governor, and in case of 
the death, resignation, removal from office or disqualification of 
the president of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives shall exercise the office. 

~ . The Senate consists of thirty-one members, 

State Senators , - ,. 

elected at the same time, and for the same term, 

as the representatives, by the qualified electors of the districts into 

which the State is from time to time divided. 

The districts into which the state is divided for the choice of 
senators, conform, as near as may be, to county lines, and are ap¬ 
portioned according to the number of inhabitants. Each county 
shall have at least one senator, and no county shall have more than 
four senators. The meetings within this state for the election of 
senators are held and regulated, and the votes received, sorted, 
counted, declared and recorded, in the same manner as those for 
representatives. 

The Senate on the first Wednesday of January biennially, deter¬ 
mines who are elected by'a plurality of votes to be senators in each 
district; and in case the full number of senators to be elected from 
each district shall not have been so elected, the members of the 
house of representatives and such senators as have been elected, 
shall, from the highest numbers of the persons voted for, on said 


69 


lists, equal to twice the number of senators deficient, in every 
district, if there be so many voted for, elect by joint ballot the 
number of senators required. But . all vacancies in the senate, 
arising from death, resignation, removal from the State, or like 
causes, shall be filled by an immediate election in the unrepresent¬ 
ed district. The governor shall issue his proclamation therefor 
and therein fix the time of such election. 

The senators shall be twenty-five years of age at the com¬ 
mencement of the term, for. which they are elected, and in all 
other respects their qualifications shall be the same, as those of 
the representatives. 

The Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments, and 
when sitting for that purpose shall be on oath or affirmation, and 
no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two- 
thirds of the members present. Its judgment, however, shall 
not extend farther than to removal from office, and disqualifica¬ 
tion to hold or enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under this 
State. But the party, whether convicted or acquitted, shall never¬ 
theless be liable to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment ac¬ 
cording to law. 

The Senate chooses its president, secretary and other officers. 
rj , The legislative power shall be vested in two 

Representatives distinct branches, a House of Representatives, 
and a Senate, each to have a negative on the 
other, and both to be styled the Legislature of Maine. In the 
house there are one hundred and fifty-one members. They are 
elected by the direct vote of the people to serve two years. Rep¬ 
resentatives are chosen from legislative classes which are made 
up by grouping the small towns. These classes are adjusted at 
least once in ten years. The legislature makes up the classes 
after each census is taken, so that every town may have a pro¬ 
portional representation. The minimum number of votes in each 
class is fifteen hundred. In making the legislative classes, towns 
are never divided. No town may have more than seven repre¬ 
sentatives. 

No person shall be a member of the House of Representatives, 


70 


unless he shall, at the commencement of the period for which he 
is elected, have been five years a citizen of the United States, have 
arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and have been a resident 
of this State one year. 

Whenever the seat of a member shall be vacated by death, res¬ 
ignation or otherwise, the vacancy may be filled by a new election. 
The House of Representatives shall choose its speaker, clerk 
and other officers. 


A bill is the draft of a proposed law as intro¬ 
duced into the legislature. It is known either 
as an “act” or a “resolve.” After a bill becomes 


How a bill 
is passed 


law it is classified either as a “public act,” a “private and special 
act” or a “resolve.” 

A public act is one which operates upon some subject or meas¬ 
ure of public policy in which the whole community is interested. 

A private and special act is one which is for the particular in¬ 
terest or benefit of some person, group of persons, corporation or 
organization. 

A resolve, though the line which separates a legislative act of 
this kind from another act properly so called cannot be accurately 
discriminated, is the form generally adopted when administrative, 
local or temporary laws are to be passed. 

A member wishing to present a bill has it written on a blank 
provided by the state. He signs his name to the bill and places 
it in a box near the Speaker’s desk. Every day at four o’clock 
the joint committee on Reference of Bills goes over the bills that 
have been deposited and by their endorsement suggests the joint 
standing committtee to which the bill ought to be referred. If it 
is of sufficient importance, they order it printed. The committee 
to which the bill was referred gives a public hearing, where the 
public is given an opportunity to speak for or against the bill. 
The committee then votes that it “ought to pass.” It is reported 
to the House where it is read and discussed. It is given three 
readings, two by title only. After this, the house votes on the bill. 
It is then sent to the Senate, where it goes through the same pro¬ 
cess as in the House and is finally passed to be enacted. It is then 


71 


initiative 


returned to the House where it is also passed to be enacted. It is 
next ordered to be engrossed, that is, printed in the form it is to 
have when it is a law. It is signed by the Speaker of the House 
and the President of the Senate, and then goes to the Governor 
for his signature. If the governor vetoes the bill, it requires a 
two-thirds vote of each house to pass it over his veto. 

The initiative is the power the people reserve 
to themselves to propose ordinances and laws 
and amendments to their charters and constitutions, and to enact 
or reject the same at the polls. In Maine the people by the initi¬ 
ative may propose any measure, including bills to amend or repeal 
emergency legislation, but not to amend the state constitution. 
The petition must set forth the full text of the measure proposed 
and be signed by not less than 12,000 electors, and be filed with 
the secretary of state or presented to either branch of the legis¬ 
lature at least 30 days before the close of its session. Proposed 
measures must be submitted to the legislature, and unless they are 
enacted without change, they must be submitted to the electors 
together with any amended form substitute or recommendation of 
the legislature, in such a manner that the people can choose be¬ 
tween the competing measures, or reject both. When there are 
competing bills and neither receives a majority of the votes given 
for and against both, the one receiving the greater number of 
votes is to be resubmitted by itself at the next general election, to 
be held not less than sixty days after the first vote thereon; but 
no measure is to be resubmitted unless it has received more than 
one-third of the votes given for and against both. An initiative 
measure enacted by the legislature without change is not to be re¬ 
ferred unless a popular vote is demanded by a referendum peti¬ 
tion. The veto power of the governor does not extend to any 
measure approved by vote of the people, and if he vetoes any 
measure initiated by the people and passed by the legislature 
without change and his veto is sustained by the legislature, the 
measure is referred to the people at the next general election. 

Referendum The referendum is the power the people re¬ 
serve to themselves to approve or reject at the 


72 


polls any ordinance or act passed by their legislative assemblies. 
In Maine the legislature may enact measures expressly condi¬ 
tioned upon the people’s ratification by referendum vote. Peti¬ 
tions for a referendum of any act or any part or parts thereof, 
passed by the legislature must be signed by not less than 10,000 
electors, and be filed within ninety days after the recess of the 
legislature. The governor is required to give notice of the sus¬ 
pension of acts through referendum petitions and make procla¬ 
mation of the time when the referred measure is to be voted upon. 
Referred measures do not take effect until thirty days after the 
governor has announced their ratification by a majority of the 
electors voting thereon. The governor may order a special elec¬ 
tion upon an initiative or referendum measure, or if so requested 
in the petition shall order a special election held upon the act to 
be referred or the act initiated but not enacted without change 
by the legislature. 


73 


CHAPTER II. 


STATE OFFICIALS. 


Governor's 

Council 


The work of the Executive Department consti¬ 
tutes a very important and extensive part of the 
business of the state. If we think of the Gov¬ 


ernor and Council as the president and board of directors of a cor¬ 
poration, we will have on the whole a clear idea of their relation 
to the various activities of the state. There is annually raised by 
the state about eight million dollars, and all this vast sum is ex¬ 
pended under the direction of the Governor and Council. The 
council does its work largely through the following standing com¬ 
mittees : On Accounts; on Public Lands and Buildings; on State 
Library; on State Highways; on Military Affairs; on Indian Af¬ 
fairs; on Election Returns; on Printing and Binding; on State 
Beneficiaries and Pensions (including Relief of Needy Blind) ; 
on State Prisons and Pardons; on Insane Hospitals; on Juvenile 
Institutions; on Maine School for Feeble-Minded. 

The constitution and statutes set forth certain specific duties for 
the Executive Department. By the constitution, the ‘governor is 
constituted the supreme executive power and he is given a council 
of seven members to advise him in the conduct of the affairs of 
the state. These councillors act in much the same manner as does 
the Cabinet of the United States, but individually the councillors 
do not head a department. While the governor is elected by pop¬ 
ular vote, the councillors are chosen biennially on joint ballot by 
the legislature. The state is divided into seven districts with a 
councillor for each district. 

The governor and council are required to tabulate the returns 
and elections of votes cast at primary, state and special elections, 
and elections for the choice of presidential and vice-presidential 
electors. The statutory powers and duties of the council cannot be 
enumerated without reference to many of the chapters of the Re¬ 
vised Statutes and Session Laws. 


74 


The governor and council have the execution of the state pen¬ 
sion law, under which approximately $150,000 per year is distrib¬ 
uted to veterans of the Civil War and the Spanish War, and their 
dependents; also the law providing for pensions for the needy 
blind, which was enacted a few years ago, under which several 
hundred blind persons are now receiving very substantial aid. 
They are authorized to provide for the training and other expenses 
of blind children in institutions outside of the state. They also 
examine claims for reimbursement of cities, towns and plantations, 
for aid to dependents of soldiers, sailors and marines, who served 
in the war with Germany. 

Various other claims of cities, towns and plantations are exam¬ 
ined and allowed under their direction, such as claims for support 
of dependent persons having no settlement within the state, for 
which purpose alone the funds now amount to $150,000 per year. 
In addition to all these specific duties, there are hundreds of mat¬ 
ters coming up that would naturally appear in the administration 
of a big business for which no specific legal provision could be 
made. 


Secretary 
of slate 


The secretary of state is elected by the Legis¬ 
lature for two years. His office was designed 
by the framers of the constitution primarily as 
an office of record in which were to be ‘'preserved the records of 
all the official acts of the Governor and Council, the Senate and 
the House of Representatives.” So rapid has been the advance 
of the state’s business, however, and so various the changes in its 
government that this department has become a great buiness of- 
lce. The revenue received by the secretary of state in 1920 was 
$826,880.47. In addition to this sum the deposits produced in in¬ 
terest alone about two thousand dollars. This money was de¬ 
rived from the following sources: 

1919 1920 


Registration of automobiles and licensing 


of drivers.$685,571.25 

Corporation changes . 1,665.00 

New corporations . ,. 2,465.00 


$818,755.50 

2,425.00 

2,135.00 


75 





Fees of office . .. 
Itinerant vendors 


2,714.99 

1,029.95 


3,464.97 

100.00 


The duties of the secretary of state are as follows: Attending 
as secretary the meetings of the governor and council and pre¬ 
serving records of all their official acts; preparing, recording and 
delivering commissions to all persons appointed by the governor; 
engrossing all acts and resolves of the legislature including the 
preservation and filing of the original papers and signed copies of 
all laws; publication of the official copies of the acts of each suc¬ 
ceeding legislature including the annotation and indexing of these 
volumes; recording of the acts of incorporation of Maine formed 
corporations together with the annual return, sending out notices 
of the annual franchise tax, recording changes, etc.; registration 
of automobiles and the licensing of drivers of the same; prepara¬ 
tion and distribution of all ballots used in state, county and na¬ 
tional elections and primaries and the filing of the returns of votes 
of such elections. 

The secretary appoints his deputies, who serve during the pleas¬ 
ure of the secretary. During the late summer and fall months the 
office force averages about ten in number, this being increased to 
twenty or twenty-five during the busy season. The total expense 
of this office for 1920 was $49,866.76. 

'tw, *„,*.„*. The treasurer is elected by the legislature for 

two years and may not be elected for more than 
six years in succession. 

The state debt in 1920 was 


State Highway Loan Bonds .$1,921,000.00 

State of Maine War Loan Bonds. 1,000,000.00 

Civil War Bonds . 500.00 


Bonds held in trust for the Augusta State Hospital and Uni¬ 
versity of Maine amount to $268,300. 

The amount received in this office from corporation and fran¬ 
chise taxes in the year 1920 amounted to $221,970. The amount 


76 







of taxes on wild lands for the same period amounted to $434,- 
527.45. The state taxes on cities and towns for the year 1920 
amounted to $3,739,533.73. 

Auditor The °® ce the State Auditor was established 

in 1907. It is his duty to examine and audit all 
accounts and demands against the state. The weekly payrolls for 
the state departments and their field forces as well as the payrolls 
of the thirteen state institutions are also audited and the war¬ 
rants prepared in this office. The auditor is also secretary of the 
Farm Land Loan Commission of Maine, created in 1917, which is 
charged with the duty of lending state money on farm land secur¬ 
ity, the rate being five per cent with twenty years as the period of 
the loan. The state auditor is called upon to aid in the prepara¬ 
tion of the state budget, which is presented to the legislature at its 
biennial sessions. There was employed in the department, Decem¬ 
ber, 1920, the following: A special auditor, in charge of the ac¬ 
counts of the state institutions; a chief clerk, a department audi¬ 
tor, statistician, index clerk and three clerks and stenographers. 
The appropriation for the department in 1920 was $22,732.00. 

In case a vacancy occurs, the governor, by and with the advice 
and consent of the council, may appoint a person to fill said va¬ 
cancy for the unexpired term. 

The auditor shall record all certificates issued by him in a book 
kept for that purpose, and shall transmit such certificates to the 
governor and council. He shall keep a distinct acocunt of all state 
receipts and expenditures under appropriate heads. He shall also 
keep a statement of all property belonging to the state and of all 
debts and obligations due to and from the state. He shall investi¬ 
gate all accounts, demands, bills, vouchers or claims against the 
state, including those made by any state officer, department, com¬ 
mission or trustee. The auditor shall not approve nor issue his cer¬ 
tificate for the payment of any bill or account unless there is a spe¬ 
cific appropriation or fund for the payment thereof, or an expend¬ 
iture is authorized by law to be paid out of a contingent fund, or 
from moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. 


77 


The office of the Attorney General has existed 
Attorney in the State of Maine since the birth of the state 

General in 1820, but during the early history of the state, 

its powers and duties were much more restrict¬ 
ed in scope than in more recent years. The Attorney General is 
elected by the Legislature for a term of two years. 

Until comparatively recent times, the Attorney General’s activi¬ 
ties were more closely related to the enforcement of criminal laws 
throughout the state, county attorneys acting generally under his 
direction. Quite radical changes in this respect were effected in 
1905, since which time, in matters relating to their duties, he is re¬ 
quired to participate only in the trial of indictments of treason and 
murder. In the same year he was also invested with broad powers 
as the legal representative of the state government, being required 
to appear for the state and advise state officials, boards and com¬ 
missions in all suits and other civil proceedings in which the state 
is a party or interested or in which the official acts and doings of 
such officers are in question in all courts of the state; and in such 
suits and proceedings before any other tribunal when requested 
by the governor or by the legislature or either branch thereof. He 
was also required to render legal services required by state officers, 
boards and commissions in connection with their legal duties and 
they were forbidden to engage other counsel. He was also author¬ 
ized to bring civil actions to recover money for the state and to 
appear before departments and tribunals of the United States and 
committees of Congress and prosecute claims of the state against 
the United States. He was also required whenever public interest 
might require to prevent public nuisance. 

In 1870, the first duties with reference to corporations was im¬ 
posed upon this office, the Attorney General being required to ap¬ 
prove certificates of organization. In 1881, he was required to en¬ 
force penalties against corporations for failure to make returns to 
the secretary of state and in 1883 was authorized to excuse corpo¬ 
rations which had ceased to transact business from filing such re¬ 
turns. 

In 1909, he was required to represent the interests of the state 

78 


in the assessment and collection of inheritance taxes, a line of ac¬ 
tivity which has expanded so rapidly that an assistant attorney 
general is now required by law to devote his whole time to that 
work. The office of assistant attorney general was created under 
special statutory authority in 1905. 

In 1919, a general law was passed giving the attorney general 
authority to employ a deputy attorney general and such assistance 
as the duties of the office might require. At the present time there 
is a deputy upon whom by statute is conferred duties relating to 
the organization of corporations and such other duties as the At¬ 
torney General may require, and one assistant whose time is de¬ 
voted to inheritance tax work. 

The appropriation for the department for all purposes for 1920 
was $27,000.00. 

The department is under the direction of the 
Agriculture Commissioner of Agriculture, who is elected by 

the legislature to serve four years. The depart¬ 
ment as at present organized, is composed of five Divisions, each 
Division including one or more bureaus as follows: 

1. Division of Plant Industry; (a) Gypsy Moth Work, (b) Horti¬ 
culture, (c) Seed Improvement, (d) Exhibits. 

2. Division of Animal Industry; (a) Livestock, (b) Sheep Spe¬ 
cialist, (c) Dairy Inspector. 

3. Division of Markets; (a) Marketing, (b) Statistics, (c) Grad¬ 
ing and Packing, (d) Labor. 

4. Division of Inspection; (a) Food, Fertilizers, etc., (b) Apple 
Packing, (c) Weights and Measures. 

5. Commissioner, Administration Division; Institutes, Fairs, Bul¬ 
letins, Miscellaneous Work,'General Supervision. 


The Maine Public Utilities Commission was cre¬ 
ated in 1913 by the 77th Legislature. This act 
was referred to the people in 1914 and accepted 
by a large majority. The law became effective November 1, 1914. 
The Commission, in addition to the ordinary duties of such a 


Public 

Utilities 


79 



commission, took over the work of the former Railroad Commis¬ 
sion and the Maine Water Storage Commission. 

The Public Utilities Commission consists of three commissioners 
appointed for a term of seven years. This Commission has regu¬ 
latory powers over all steam railroads, electric railoads, gas, water, 
electric, telephone, telegraph, steamboat, and express companies, 
also warehousemen and wharfingers operating in the State of 
Maine and totaling 483 companies. The Commission has the power 
to fix the rates charged for the different classes of service rendered 
by the different utilities. It is its duty to see that no discrimina¬ 
tion in the sale of the product occurs among consumers in the same 
class and to prevent the enjoyment of special privileges among the 
consumers and see that no rebates are given except as provided by 
law and as ordered by them. The law requires that all changes in 
rates shall be filed 30 days before they go into effect. The Com¬ 
mission has power to suspend rates pending an investigation. 

It has jurisdiction over all issues of stocks, bonds and notes. 
This requires public hearing and careful scrutiny of the purposes 
and legality of the issues. Many cases require the auditing of 
accounts, and, in some of them, appraisals in addition to the tes¬ 
timony presented at the hearings. No public utility corporation 
is permitted to issue a share of common capital stock without sat¬ 
isfactory proof that it brought to the treasury of the utility its 
full face value in property. This entirely prevents the issue of 
“watered” stock. The Commission also insists that new public 
utility corporations shall actually finance their operations in part 
through money or property furnished by the stockholders, so 
that there will be a substantial equity behind the bonds before 
they are sold to the public. 

The Commission through a special agent also inspects the 
plants and recommends improvements looking toward the bet¬ 
terment of the water supply furnished the public by the various 
water companies. There are 479 public service companies oper¬ 
ating in the state as follows: Electric lighting companies, 94; 
express companies, 7; steam railroads, 15; electric railroads, 15; 
telegraph companies, 4; water companies, 172; warehousemen, 


80 


5; wharfingers, 17. The total estimated assets of all these com¬ 
panies are $250,000,000. These companies issued under the 
Commission’s direction during the four years preceding 1919 the 
following securities: Stocks, $11,209,920; bonds, $30,634,343.75; 
a total of $41,844,263.75. 

Highwai s The a PP ro P r i a ^ on f° r the payment of state aid 

was fixed at this time as one-third of a mill on 
the valuation of the state. In 1909 this appropriation was in¬ 
creased to three-fourths of one mill. In 1911 the principle of 
the mill tax was abolished and the appropriation of $250,000 per 
year was made to carry on the work. This appropriation was 
continued until 1913 and since that time the appropriation has 
been $300,000 annually. 

The legislature of 1913 passed a new state highway law reor¬ 
ganizing the state highway department under a commission of 
three members. This law directed the highway commission to 
lay out a system of state highways which should be the principal 
thoroughfares of the state and a system of state aid highways 
which should be feeders to the state highway system. The law 
also placed in the hands of the commission the maintenance of 
all state and state aid highways as fast as constructed and di¬ 
rected the commission to take for maintenance certain portions 
of state aid highways already constructed. 

The following types of construction have been used: Portland 
cement concrete, bituminous macadam, water-bound macadam, 
gravel. The higher types have been used where traffic is the 
heaviest and most severe. About eighty per cent, of the entire 
mileage has been constructed of gravel. Each year substantially 
150 miles of state aid roads are constructed at a cost of approx¬ 
imately $1,000,000, said cost being borne in round numbers, one- 
half by the state and one-half by the cities and towns. 

In acocrdance with the provisions of the law passed in 1916 
a bridge division was organized by the State Highway Commis¬ 
sion in 1917. When the cost of constructing a bridge on a main 
thoroughfare, added to the highway taxes, makes a tax rate in 
excess of five mills the municipal officers of the city or town in 


[ 6 ] 


81 


which the bridge is located may petition the highway commission 
and the county commissioners for state and county aid. 

The bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics 
a m an was created by the legislature of 1887. The 

duties of the bureau were to collect statistical 
details relating to the commercial, industrial, social and educa¬ 
tional conditions of the laboring people. The law further pro¬ 
vided that the bureau should inquire into any violation of the 
labor laws. In 1911 the old bureau was discontinued and the 
State Department of Labor and Industry took its place. The ex¬ 
ecutive in this department is known as the Commissioner of 
Labor and Industry and State Factory Inspector. 

The work of the department as it exists under the present law 
is as follows: Collecting, assorting and arranging statistical de¬ 
tails relating to all departments of labor and industrial pursuits 
in the state; trade unions and other labor organizations and their 
effect upon labor and capital; the number and character of in¬ 
dustrial accidents and their effect upon the injured, their depend¬ 
ent relatives and upon the general public ; other matters relating 
to the commercial, industrial, social, educational, moral and sani¬ 
tary conditions prevailing within the state, including the names 
of firms, companies or corporations, where located, the kind of 
goods produced or manufactured, the time operated each year, 
the number of employees classified according to age and sex, and 
the daily and average wages paid each employee; and the exploi¬ 
tation of such other subjects as will tend to promote the perma¬ 
nent prosperity of the industries of the state. 

The Commissioner of Labor and Industry shall cause to be en¬ 
forced all laws regulating the employment of minors and women; 
all laws established for the protection of health, lives and limbs 
of operators in workshops and factories, on railroads and in other 
places; all laws regulating the payment of wages, and all laws 
enacted for the protection of the working classes. The work¬ 
men’s compensation act assigns to the Labor Commissioner the 
duty of approving all agreements for compensation made between 
employers and injured employees. Such agreements are not 


82 


Workmen's 

Insurance 


valid until they receive the approval of the Commissioner of 
Labor. 

The Commissioner of Labor estimates that there are about 
410,820 persons employed in the State of Maine distributed as 
follows: Manufacturing 113,410, mercantile, 112,410, agricultu¬ 
ral, 125,000, lumbering, 60,000. There are about 4600 firms in 
Maine engaged in about 200 different industries. 

The Workmen's Compensation Act of Maine 
was passed by the legislature of 1915, and be¬ 
came operative for organization purposes upon 
the first day of October, 1915. For administration purposes, the 
act took effect on January 1, 1916, prescribing the compensation to 
be paid when workmen sustained injury or death in the course 
of their employment. Administration of the law is supervised 
by a commission consisting of four members; a chairman and as¬ 
sociate legal member who are appointed by the governor, the com¬ 
missioner of labor and industry and the commissioner of insur¬ 
ance. 

The system provided for is optional, except as to state, county, 
cities, water districts and other quasi municipal corporations. All 
other employers have the right to elect whether or not to adopt 
the compensation features of the act, such election being evi¬ 
denced by a signed written acceptance filed in the office of the 
Commission, together with copy of compensation policy. Every 
employee and employer who has elected to become subject to the 
act is presumed to be also subject to its provisions in the absence 
of written notice to the employer of a contrary intention at the 
time of his contract of hire, and within ten days thereafter hav¬ 
ing filed a copy thereof with the Commission. 

The Board is appointed by the governor, not 
more than two of whom can be taken from the 
same political party, the governor to designate 
the member who shall serve as chairman. The Board of State 
Assessors constitute a board of equalization, whose duty it is to 
equalize state and county taxes among the several towns and un¬ 
organized townhips. For this purpose they may summon before 


State 

Assessors 


83 


them and examine under oath any town assessor or other officer, 
or any officer of any corporation, and shall also have access to 
books, records and documents relating to any matter which the 
board has authority to investigate. They are required by law 
to visit officially every county in the state at least once each year, 
for the purpose of conferring with local assessors, and inquiring 
into the methods of assessment and taxation in the several cities 
and towns. Public notice of these meetings must be given. 

Local assessors are required to return to the State Assessors 
annually, on or before the first day of August, such information 
as said Board of State Assessors may require to enable them to 
equalize property values between towns, and they may add to or 
deduct from the amounts so furnished. They must file with the. 
secretary of state, biennially, the assessed valuation for each 
town and township in the state. The aggregate amount for each 
county and for the entire state shall be certified by said board. 
This valuation shall be the basis for the computation and appor¬ 
tionment of the state and county taxes, until the next biennial 
assessment and equalization. 

This office has been provided with a complete 
modern letter manifolding equipment and ad¬ 
dressing department, giving excellent service in efficiency and 
quality of work. Many of the departments have taken advantage 
of these facilities and find them a tremendous help in saving time 
and energy. 

The printing for the state is divided into classes and competi¬ 
tive bids are solicited and proposals accepted for doing the work 
under contract, the contract usually running for a period of two 
years. There are four classes of printing. Class A, book print¬ 
ing, includes annual or biennial reports of state officials, depart¬ 
ments, institutions, boards or commissions, and similar books, 
pamphlets, catalogues, etc., consisting of eight pages or more, also 
abstracts of same printed from same type. Class B, miscella¬ 
neous job printing, including blank forms, (index and filing cards, 
tab cards, loose leaves, and ruled blanks, excepted) circulars of 
less than eight pages, stationery printed with the ordinary letter 


State Printing 


84 


press and general office supplies. Circulars issued in series, 
where uniformity of style is important, though occasionally com¬ 
prising eight pages or more, may be kept wholly within Class B 
if deemed most feasible. Class C, legislative printing, including 
both book and job printing concurrent with and contingent upon 
sessions of the legislature, required by the order or for the use 
of the legislature. Class D, election ballots for state, congression¬ 
al and preidential elections and accessories necessary for the 
packing and distribution of same, also election notices and blanks 
for returns. This combined printing means nearly seven million 
impressions and nearly seven and one-quarter million pieces of 
paper. 


Adjutant 

General 


The office of the Adjutant General was created 
as a state department by the first laws of 1820. 
The Adjutant General is appointed by the gov¬ 
ernor with the advice of the council, and holds office at the pleas¬ 
ure of the governor. He has the rank of brigadier general, and 
is, ex-officio, chief of staff, quartermaster general, and paymaster 
general, of the state. For the purpose of establishing the relation 
between the war department and the various staff departments 
of the state, he is the chief of said departments; and he shall con¬ 
trol the military department subordinate only to the governor. He 
shall also be responsible for the care, preservation, and repair of 
all military property belonging or issued to the state for the arm¬ 
ing and equipping of the militia. 

In 1917 the Fish and Game Commission was 
abolished and the work of the Department is 
now handled by one official, designated as Com¬ 
missioner of Inland Fisheries and Game. The commissioner is 
appointed by the governor for a term of three years. His duties, 
in general, are the propagation and protection of fish and the pro¬ 
tection of game and birds. The state department maintains 
eleven fish hatcheries, situated at Caribou, Enfield, Tunk Pond, 
Moosehead Lake (near Greenville Junction), Lake Moxie, North 
Belgrade, Monmouth, East Auburn,Oquossoc, Raymond and Cam¬ 
den, in which hatcheries are annually raised from four to five mil- 


Inland 

Fisheries 


85 


lions of landlocked salmon, trout and togue for stocking the inland 
waters of this state. A force of wardens, varying from seventy- 
five to one hundred, is on duty throughout the year engaged in 
the enforcement of the inland fish and game laws. 

Since July, 1917, the Department has had placed at its disposal 
the fees collected for non-resident fishermen's licenses ($2.00 
each), which are set apart as a fund and expended solely for the 
propagation and protection of inland fish. In 1917 these fees 
amounted to $15,000. The Department annually collects in license 
fees, fines and from miscellaneous sources from forty to fifty 
thousand dollars, which money is paid to the State Treasurer and 
credited to the general state fund, the Department receiving no 
benefit from it. 


Fisheries 
Sea and Shore 


The legislature of 1917 abolished the office of 
Commissioner of Sea and Shore Fisheries and 
created in place thereof, a Sea and Shore Fish¬ 
eries Commission; the Commission to appoint a Director of Sea 
and Shore Fisheries with all the powers and duties of the former 
commissioner. 

Three million dollars are invested in the fishing industry, in¬ 
cluding the vessels and their apparatus. Approximately 12,000 
persons, exclusive of sardine industry, get their living direct from 
our fisheries. The annual value of the lobster catch alone is two 
million dollars; of herring, two and a half mililon; clams, four 
hundred thousand; mackerel, one hundred thousand; smelts, one 
hundred thousand; other salt water fish, one million. These in¬ 
clude only those sold as taken from the water, not reckoning salted 
and dried fish, such as cod, haddock, hake and cusk. 

The herling fishery is one of the most important industries. 
Canning of sardines gives greater employment than any other 
branch. About two million cases are annually packed, sold at 
$10,000,000. Other branches of the great canning industry, es¬ 
tablishments of which are scattered here and there along the sea¬ 
board, are clams, in value $500,000; lobsters, $2,000,000; smelts, 
$96,000; alewives, $30,000; mackerel, $100,000; shad, $20,000; 
salmon, $22,000; and other fish, $5000. In fish canning and pre- 


86 


serving are employed nearly six thousand persons who receive 
wages of $900,000. The total annual product is five million dol¬ 
lars. 

The Land Agent and Forest Commissioner is 
appointed by the governor for a term of four 
years. He shall execute deeds in behalf of the 
state, conveying lands which have been granted 
by the legislature or sold by lawful authority. The land agent 
under direction of the governor and council shall sell at public or 
private sale and grant rights to cut timber and grass belonging 
to the state and may lease camp sites on lands belonging to the 
state, on such terms as they direct; also the right to cut timber 
and grass and lease camp sites on lots reserved for public uses in 
any township or tract of land until the same is incorporated. 

The land agent shall have the care of the reserved lands in all 
townships or tracts, until they are incorporated, and the fee be¬ 
comes vested in the town. He may, from time to time, sell for 
cash for such sum as he thinks just and reasonable, the timber 
and grass thereon, or the right to cut the same. 

The standing timber in the State of Maine is estimated as 


follows: 

Spruce .11,630,000,000 ft. bd. measure 

Spruce Pulp . 9,610,000,000 “ “ 

Fir . 2,288,500,000 “ “ 

Fir Pulp .. 1,943,000,000 “ “ 

Pine . 5,060,000,000 “ “ 

Cedar. 2,781,000,000 “ “ 

Hemlock. 880,000,000 “ “ 

Poplar . 1,123,000 cords 

White Birch. 1,109,980 cords 

Yellow Birch . 2,033,500,000 ft. bd. measure 

Maple . 1,403,500,000 “ “ 

Beech .12,000,000,000 “ “ 


Land Agent 
and Forest 
Commissioner 


There are in farms 9000 square miles. It is estimated that 
2400 square miles included in the farm lands consist of woods, 


87 














add that to the part remaining as a wilderness, and there are 
22,000 square miles of forest lands, a territory equal in extent to 
the combined areas of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Con¬ 
necticut. There are nine hundred establishments engaged in the 
manufacture of lumber and timber products, with seven thousand 
wage-earners, and products valued at fifteen million dollars an¬ 
nually. 

Bank The Commissioner is appointed by the 

' . . governor for a term of three years. No person, 

Commissioner , . . ... ,. , .. 

copartnership, association, or corporation shall 

do a banking business unless duly authorized under the laws of 

this state or the United States, and having the consent of the 

Bank Commissioner. 

The number, classes and assets of the institutions under the su¬ 
pervision of this department as compiled from the annual returns 
of September 29, 1920, are as follows: 


45 Savings Banks.$107,463,361.59 

53 Trust Companies. 

21 Trust Company Branches. 

4 Trust Company Agencies. 124,539,850.85 

38 Loan and Building Associations. 8,050,930.63 

3 Loan Companies. 871,206.63 

1 Industrial Bank. 134,595.27 


164 Total.$241,059,944.97 


The banking department also has supervision of dealers in se¬ 
curities. There are at present 188 dealers in securities and 223 
salesmen or agents licensed under the provisions of the “Blue Sky 
Law.” The 1917 legislature placed under the supervision of the 
Banking Department all persons, copartnerships and corporations 
engaged in the business of making loans of $300 or less, at a 
greater rate of interest than twelve per centum per annum. The 
act applies to pawn brokers as well as loan agencies. There are 
now eighteen loan agencies operating under the supervision of the 
department. 


88 












Commissioner 
of Health 


The establishment of “Industrial Banks” under the supervision 
of the Banking Department was authorized by the 1917 legisla¬ 
ture. These banks are intended to accommodate the small but 
worthy borrower who has no banking credit or whose needs are 
not sufficiently large to interest the average banker. 

The Commissioner of Health is appointed by 
the governor for a term of six years. The State 
Department of Health was created by the Sev¬ 
enty-eighth Legislature. Its official existence dates from July 7, 
1917. This department takes the place of the former State Board 
of Health which was created in 1885. The board consisted of six 
members appointed by the governor. 

In the newly organized department, the Commissioner of Health 
is the administrative head, and also Chairman of the Public 
Health Council which consists of five members. The state is di¬ 
vided into three health districts, each under the supervision of a 
full-time officer who represents the Health Commissioner. The 
three health districts are as follows: The northern district, com¬ 
prising the country north of the Canadian Pacific Railroad; the 
southeastern district, including territory south of the Canadian 
Pacific and east of the Kennebec; the southwestern district, com¬ 
prising the country south of the Canadian Pacific and west of the 
Kennebec. The State Department of Health has established six 
central divisions, all of which are viewed as co-operating agen¬ 
cies for the use of local health officials and the general public. 
These six divisions are as follows: Administration, Communicable 
Diseases, Sanitary Engineering, Diagnostic Laboratories, Vital 
Statistics, and Public Health Education. 

The Insurance Commissioner is appointed by 
the governor for a term of four years. He 
shall annually examine or cause to be examined, 
every domestic stock insurance and mutual life insurance com¬ 
pany, and biennially every domestic mutual fire insurance com¬ 
pany, in order to ascertain its ability to meet its engagements and 
do a safe insurance business; and shall make such other exami¬ 
nations as he regards necessary for the safety of the public or 


insurance 

Commissioner 


89 



the holders of policies. He may require the officers to produce for 
examination all books and papers of the company, and to answer, 
on oath, all questions propounded to them in relation to its con¬ 
dition and affairs. 

These duties include the investigation of questionable fires, in¬ 
spection of property within the state and supervision of local fire 
inspectors and fire departments. This part of the work was added 
to the duties of the commissioner of insurance in 1895. Under the 
provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Act the Insurance 
Commissioner is a member of the Industrial Accident Commis¬ 
sion and is charged with the duty of approving policy forms for 
compensation before they are filed with the Industrial Accident 
Commission and with the approval of adequate rates for compen- 
ation. The Insurance Commissioner has supervision of all insur¬ 
ance companies including fire, marine, life, casualty, liability, 
plate glass, surety, bonding companies and various other lines, 
also fraternal beneficiary associations, and under the provisions 
of the law passed by the legislature of 1915, he is charged with 
supervision of lightning rod manufacturers and the installation 


of lightning rods within the state. 

Ordinary life insurance: 

Total insurance in force December 13, 1918 . . . .$150,943,546.57 

Total insurance written in 1918 . 21,713,344.47 

Total premiums paid to companies . 5,289,918.88 

Total losses paid by companies. 2,944,930.12 

Industrial insurance: 

Total insurance in force December 31, 1918 .... $31,775,723.00 

Total insurance written in 1918 . 6,629,571.00 

Total premiums paid to companies . 1,102,314.01 

Total losses paid by companies . 429,489.58 

Fraternal Insurance: 

Total insurance in force December 31, 1918.$44,810,365.00 

Total insurance written in 1918 . 4,365,650.00 

Total premiums paid to companies. 712,846.16 

Total losses paid by companies. 551,598.19 

90 












Fire Insurance: 

Total insurance written in 1918.$448,370,086.40 

Total premiums paid to companies . 6,377,873.00 

Total losses paid by companies . 2,520,240.38 

Total fires in 1918—2040; damage . 3,068,923.00 


State 

Superintendent 
of Schools 


The State Superintendent of Schools is ap¬ 
pointed by the governor for a term of three 
years. He exercises a general supervision of 
all the public schools, and advises and directs 
the town committees and superintendents in the discharge of their 
duties, by circular letters and personal conferences, devoting all 
his time to the duties of his office. He obtains information as to 
the school systems of other states and countries, and the condition 
and progress of public school education throughout the world; 
disseminates this information, with such practical hints upon the 
conduct of schools, improved systems of instruction, and the true 
theory of education as observation and investigation convince him 
to be important, by public addresses, circulars and articles pre¬ 
pared for the press, and by outlines, suggestions and directions; 
concerning the management, discipline and methods employed in 
teaching, prepared for and distributed among the teachers of the 
schools and school officers of the state; and does all in his power 
to awaken and sustain an interest in education among the people, 
and to stimulate teachers to well directed efforts in their work. He 
reports annually to the governor and council the result of his in¬ 
quiries and investigations, and the facts obtained from the school 
returns, with such suggestions and Recommendations as in his 
judgment will best promote the improvement of public schools. 

Maine has 228,489 children between the ages of 5 and 21 years; 
of these 131,313 were enrolled in elementary schools during 1919 
with an average attendance of 97,638, making 75 per cent, of at¬ 
tendance to enrollment, which greatly exceeds the average in the 
United States. In 1919, 7,962 children completed the elementary 
schools. The enrollment for the same year in the secondary 
schools, high schools and academies was 23,291. # 


91 






The public schools of the state are supported by funds derived 
(1) from a tax levied on the property of the town by the legal 
voters at the annual town meeting in March; (2) the income from 
the permanent school fund which represents the proceeds of the 
sale of lands apportioned for the support of schools, and other 
moneys appropriated for the same purpose to which is added one- 
half of the sum received by the state from taxes on the franchiser, 
of savings banks, and one-half the sum asseessed upon the depos¬ 
its of trust and banking companies, (3) the school mill fund 
which is the proceeds of a tax of one and one-half mills on the dol¬ 
lar annually assessed upon all the property of the state according 
to the value thereof, (4) the common school fund which is a tax 
of one and one-half mills on the dollar annually assessed upon all 
the property of the state according to the value thereof. In addi¬ 
tion to these funds are moneys raised by direct appropriation 
through legislative enactment. 

State The State Librarian is appointed by the gov- 

Librarian ernor and serves a three year term. The librar¬ 

ian shall keep the library open every day in the year, Sundays and 
the usual public holidays excepted, from nine A. M. to four P. M. 
He shall be, ex-officio, a member of the library commission and 
secretary thereof. He shall purchase the books selected by the 
library commissioners for traveling libraries, cause the same to 
be properly catalogued and placed in proper cases for transporta¬ 
tion and use, keep accurate accounts of all matters relating to the 
expenditures of money, the transportation of libraries and such 
other statistics as the commissioners may require. 

In addition to the general duties of his office the librarian of 
the state library shall solicit and receive all duplicate copies of 
books and documents, and maintain a bureau of deposits and ex¬ 
change with all other libraries and institutions of learning, and 
shall aid in the establishment of free public libraries in the state 
by gifts of such books and documents as are published or pur¬ 
chased by the state for distribution. 

He shall distribute all the reports of the departments and in¬ 
stitutions of the state, and all books and documents published or 


92 


Superintendent 
of Public 
Buildings 


purchased by the state, to such nations, counties, municipalities, 
corporations, institutions and persons as are or may be by law 
entitled to receive the same. He shall also transmit to the legis¬ 
lature and to each member and officer thereof, as soon after the 
commencement of its session as practicable, one copy of each of 
the printed reports of each state department. He shall maintain 
a document department in a room provided for that purpose, in 
which shall be stored all department reports and the publications 
of the state intended for distribution, and shall keep an accurate 
account of all books and documents received, and of every book, 
document or package sent out from said department. 

The governor, with the advice and consent of 
the council, appoints a superintendent of pub¬ 
lic buildings, who holds office at the pleasure 
of the governor. It is his duty to see that the 
several apartments are at all times kept properly cleansed and 
ventilated, that all state property is preserved from injury. He 
superintends and causes repairs on all public buildings, and 
makes all purchases of furniture, lights, fuel and everything nec¬ 
essary for the use and convenience of the apartments of the state 
house. He is required to give a bond for the faithful discharge 
of his trust. 

The governor with the advice and consent of 
the council, shall appoint a state historian, who 
shall be a member of the Maine Historical So¬ 
ciety and whose duty it shall be to compile historical data of the 
state and encourage the teaching of the history of the state in the 
public schools. He shall also encourage the compiling and pub¬ 
lishing of town histories, combined with local geography; he 
shall examine, and when he decides that the material is suitable, 
approve histories of towns compiled as provided in the following 
section. Whenever any town shall present to the state historian 
material, which he considers suitable for publication as a history 
of the town presenting the same, he may approve the publication 
of a history with the local geography, which will be suitable for 

* A bill is before the 1921 Legislature placing the State Library, Commission and 
State Historian under one board. 


State 

Historian * 


93 


Library 

Commission 


use in the grammar and high school grades of the public schools. 

The governor with the advice and conseit of 
the council, shall appoint four persons as lib¬ 
rary commissioners who shall hold their offices 
for a term of four years each; they shall serve without pay; 
the commission shall give advice to all school, state institutional, 
free and public libraries, and to all communities in the state 
which may propose to establish libraries as to the best means 
of establishing and administering them; selecting and cataloging 
books, and other details of library management; and may send 
any of its members to aid in organizing such libraries or assist 
in the improvement of those already established. It may also re¬ 
ceive gifts of money, books, or other property which may be used 
or held in trust for the prupose or purposes given. It may pub¬ 
lish lists and circulars of information and may co-operate with 
other state library commissions and libraries in the publication 
of documents in order to secure the most economical administra¬ 
tion of the work for which it is formed. It may conduct courses 
of schools of library instruction and hold librarians’ institutes in 
various parts of the state, and co-operate with others in such 
schools or institutes. It shall select the books to be purchased for 
traveling libraries and advise the librarian of the state library 
in reference thereto, and shall perform such other service in be¬ 
half of public libraries as it may consider for the best interests 
of the state. 

In addition to the above, there are the following Commissions 
and Boards, whose duties can be understood from their titles: 


Commissioners of Harbor and Tidal Waters—three members, 
three years. 

Commissioners of Pharmacy—three members, three years. 
Board of Legal Examiners—five members, five years. 

Maine Board of Accountancy—three members, three years. 
Board of Registration of Medicine—six members, six years. 
Board of Registration and Examiners in Optometry—five 
members, three years. 

Board of Veterinary Examiners—three members, three years. 


94 


Board of Dental Examiners—five members, five years. 

Board of Embalming Examiners—four members, three years. 

Board of Arbitration and Conciliation—three members, three 
years. 

Board of Examination and Registration of Nurses—five mem¬ 
bers, three years. 

Inspectors of Steamboats—two members, five years. 

Board of Osteopathic Examination and Registration—five 
members, five years. 

Board of Vocational Education—three members, chairman, 
ex-officio, other two members three years. 

State Park Commission—three members, four years. 

Commissioners for Promotion of Uniformity of Legislation in 
the United States—three members, four years. 

Agent of Penobscot Indians—holds office at pleasure of gov¬ 
ernor and council. 

Agent of Passamaquoddy Indians—holds office at pleasure of 
governor and council. 


95 




CHAPTER III. 

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 


Cost of 
Public Charity 


The amount of money expended from the pub¬ 
lic treasury in the State of Maine in the year 
1919 for the support of the dependent and de¬ 
linquent classes of its population is $2,238,000.00 and the number 
of persons receiving the benefit of this expenditure of public 
moneys is 20,000. 

The number of persons in the various classes and the cost of 
caring for each class is shown by the following tabulation: 


No. Persons Annual 
Cared for or Net 
Assisted Exp’dit’e 

State Board of Charities and Corrections, 

Mothers’ Aid and Children’s Guardians, in¬ 
cluding children’s institutions and child help¬ 


ing societies . 2,400 $145,000.00 

Insane Hospitals . 2,000 587,000.00 

School for Feeble-Minded . 350 121,000.00 

School for Boys and Girls .. 525 119,000.00 

Military and Naval Orphan Asylum. 50 19,000.00 

Tuberculosis Sanatoriums. 250 215,000.00 

Reformatories and Prisons . 250 117,000.00 

Pensions and Institutions for the Blind. 420 66,000.00 

Indigent patients in general and special hos¬ 
pitals paid for by the state. 2,300 99,400.00 


Total State Expenditure ...8,545 $1,488,400.00 


The county jails cost annually. $75,000.00 

The number of persons committed to jails in 1919 was 1,650 

But the average daily number in custody was only . . 150 


Cities and towns expend annually for the care of the poor $610,- 

96 















000.00 assisting some 10,000 persons. They also expend for spe¬ 
cial relief for mothers and children, $65,000. Two and seven- 
tenths per cent, of the state’s population fails to be fully self 
supporting and it costs $3.00 per capita of the state population 
from the public treasury, either state, county or municipal, to 

The State Board of Charities and Corrections 
established by the legislature of 1913 is com¬ 
posed of five members (unsalaried), one of 
them a woman, appointed by the governor with 
the consent of the council. The board appoints a salaried secre¬ 
tary and other agents. The board is required to investigate and 
inspect the whole system of public charities and correctional in¬ 
stitutions in the state, examine into the condition and manage¬ 
ment of all prisons, jails, reform schools, industrial schools of a 
charitable or correctional nature, children’s homes, hospitals, san- 
atoriums, almshouses, orphanages, hospitals for the insane, 
schools or homes for feeble-minded, and other similar institutions, 
supported wholly or in part by state, county or municipal appro¬ 
priations, except purely educational or industrial institutions; and 
any private charitable or correctional institutions which may de¬ 
sire to be placed on the list of such institutions. The officers of 
all institutions subject to such supervision are required to furnish 
all information desired by the board which may prescribe forms 
for statement, and upon the basis of such investigation the board 
may present recommendations to the governor and legislature as 
to the management of the institution, notice thereof being given 
to the institutions affected. 

The board is required to give its opinion as to the organization 
of charitable, eleemosynary or reformatory institutions which are 
or may be under its supervision, and passes upon all plans for new 
institutions under its supervision. It receives full reports from 
overeers of the poor in regard to paupers supported or relieved. 

It acts as a board of mother’s aid, supervising the administra¬ 
tion of special aid to mothers with children under sixteen years 
of age dependent upon them, and also ex-officio as a board of chil- 


care for them. 

State Board 
of Charities 
and Corrections 


[71 


97 



(Iren’s guardians, caring for neglected children committed to it 
by the courts, arid for dependent children without relatives able 
to care for them. 

The board makes a biennial report to the legislature and pub¬ 
lishes a quarterly bulletin. 

There are a number of associations, hospitals and other insti¬ 
tutions which receive appropriations from the state, and are sub¬ 
ject to supervision by the State Board of Charities and Correc¬ 
tions so long as they receive such aid. 


Overseers of the poor, not to exceed seven in 
number, are chosen by each town. These have 
general care of destitute persons found in the 


Overseers of 
the Poor 


town, superintend the almshouse, workhouse and house of correc¬ 
tions, provide for immigrants in distress, and remove paupers to 
their place of settlement. They act ex-officio as municipal boards 
of mothers’ aid and municipal boards of children’s guardians. In 
some cases the selectmen act as overseers of the poor, and in cit¬ 
ies this duty devolves on different officers, according to the char¬ 
ter. In plantations of more than 200 population and $100,000 
valuation, the assessors act as overseers, and in unincorporated 
places the overseers in adjoining or nearby towns have care of 
the poor. 

Persons who, on account of poverty, need relief, are to be cared 
for by the overseers of the poor of the town in which they have 
settlement. In the case of unincorporated places, and of immi¬ 
grants who fall into distress, the overseers are to furnish relief, 
the expense being met by the state, and the paupers do not be¬ 
come paupers of such town by reason of such residence. The 
governor and council may in case of necessity transfer a state 
pauper to any town or place him in a state institution without 
formal commitment, but not without the knowledge and consent 
of the overseers of the town to which the pauper is to be removed. 
In case of poor persons having legal settlement elsewhere, they 
are to be relieved and the expense recovered from the place where 
they have settlement. Whoever brings an indigent person into 
a town with intent to charge his support upon the town is liable 


98 


to fine and the cost of such person's maintenance, and anyone who 
aids in bringing or leaving such a person is similarly liable. 
L e g a l Legal settlement in a town is acquired by an 

Settlement adult by five years' residence without receiving 

pauper supplies. Residence in a public insti¬ 
tution does not result in legal settlement. A married woman has 
the settlement of her husband, if he has any in the state; if not, 
her own settlement is not affected by the marriage. Legitimate 
children have the settlement of their father, if he has any in the 
state; if not, they have the settlement of their mother; but if of 
age they acquire one. Illegitimate children have the settlement 
of their mother at the time of their birth. 

Responsibility fathe "’. m ° ther ’ fandfather grandmother, 

of Relatives living within the state and of sufficient ability, 
children and grandchildren, by consanguinity, 
are required to support persons chargeable to them, in proportion 
to their respective ability. 

Every town, either by itself or in conjunction 
with one or more towns, is authorized to pro¬ 
vide an almshouse and poor farm for the care 
of poor and destitute persons needing relief; 
also a workhouse to which poor persons, especially those who are 
able-bodied, may be sent and required to work; also a house of 
correction for criminals. But until the workhouse and house of 
correction are provided, the almshouse may be used for all three 
purposes. All are under the supervision of the overseers of the 
poor. 

Overseers have the care of persons chargeable 
to their town and cause them to be relieved and 
employed at the expense of the town, but there 
is no requirement as to relief within an institution. It is provided 
that supplies and medical care may be furnished on the applica¬ 
tion of a poor person or of that of some person acting for him. 
Towns at their annual meetings, under a warrant for the pur¬ 
pose, may contract for the support of their poor for a term not 
exceeding five years. Overseers may set to work, or bind to ser- 


Methods of 

Institutional 

Relief 


Outdoor 

Relief 


99 


vice for a time not exceeding one year, persons with or without 
settlement, able-bodied, married or unmarried, over 21 years of 
age, having no apparent means of support and living idly. 

Mothers with children under sixteen years de- 
rh'lfj °* pendent upon them, and w r ho are fit and capable, 
physically, mentally and morally to bring up 
their children, may receive special financial aid if they need it, 
the state and town sharing equally in the cost. A child who is, 
on investigation by any municipal authority, found to be cruelly 
treated or wilfully neglected, or without means of support, may 
be ordered into the care and custody of such person as the judge 
may deem suitable, providing that such person consents to sup¬ 
port and educate the child, and gives bond so to do. Or the child 
may be committed to the custody of the State Board of Children's 
Guardians, or to a children's institution or child welfare organi¬ 
zation approved by the state board. 

Children may be adopted and guardians appointed for minors 
on approval by the judge of probate, and on written consent by 
the child, if of the age of 14 years, and by the parents, guardian, 
next of kin or some person appointed by the judge. 

A child in the custody of a public or charitable institution, or 
the State Board of Children's Guardians, may be restored to the 
parent by the supreme judicial court if after examination it ap¬ 
pears that the parent or parents can suitably provide for it, and 
that justice requires its restoration. 

The Military and Naval Orphan Asylum is authorized at the 
discretion of the trustees to admit to the home children or grand¬ 
children of veterans of the Civil War; also orphans or half or¬ 
phans of veterans of other wars. 

Delinquent boys, and girls in moral danger, may be committed 
to the State School for Boys or for Girls as the case may be. 

There are numerous private charitable institu¬ 
tions for the sick for which the state makes 
appropriations, and towns are authorized to 
provide for the indigent sick. When such appropriations are 
made by the state, the institutions then come under the supervi- 


Care of 
the Sick 


100 


sion of the State Board of Charities. Local Boards of Health are 
required to look after persons having diseases dangerous to the 
public health, and may remove them to separate houses, provide 
nurses and necessaries free, if the patient is unable to pay for 
the same. They are also required to furnish antitoxin free to all 
indigent persons suffering from diphtheria and other contagious 
diseases. 


Care of 
the Blind 


The Insane 


Needy blind persons over twenty-one years of 
age may receive a state pension of not to exceed 
$200 per annum per person. Blind or partially 
blind persons over 18 years of age residents of the state, may re¬ 
ceive in the Maine institution for the blind, for a period not to ex¬ 
ceed three years, practical instruction in some useful occupation 
conducive to self-support; and in aid of this work the state makes 
an annual appropriation to the institution. 

An indigent insane person committed by the 
court or a municipal board of examiners as in¬ 
sane is to be maintained by the state, the town where he resides 
paying the expense of examination and commitment. If the per¬ 
son has no legal settlement in the state all expenses are paid by 
the state. 

Idiotic and feeble-minded persons, 6 years of 
age and upward, are cared for and educated in 
the Maine School for Feeble-Minded. Indigent 
persons are supported by the state; others are charged a limited 
sum. 

Persons who are affected with tuberculosis may 
be cared for in state sanatoriums at cost, or if 
indigent, at the expense of the state. 

Misdemeanants may be committed to the 
county jails, of which there is one in each coun¬ 
ty save two (Lincoln and Sagadahoc.) These counties pay for the 
care of their prisoners in other counties. They may be also com¬ 
mitted to municipal work houses, but only a few cities maintain 
such an institution. They may also be committed to either the 
Reformatory for Men or the Reformatory for Women. 


The Feeble- 
Minded 


Tuberculosis 


Delinquents 


\ 


101 


Soldiers and 
Sailors 


Persons who commit more serious offenses may be committed 
not only to the reformatories but also to the state prison. 

The semi-intermediate sentence law is applicable to all state 
correctional institutions, for each of which the governing board 
acts also as a parole board. 

A soldier and sailor who served by enlistment 
in the Army or Navy of the United States in 
the Civil War or in the War with Spain, who 
was honorably discharged and has become dependent upon any 
town, is not to be considered a pauper and is not to be 
supported by the overseers of the poor in the poorhouse, but with 
his family, including wife and unmarried minor children living 
with him and dependent upon him for support, is to be supported 
by the town of his settlement at his own home or in such suitable 
place other than the poorhouse, as the overseers of the town may 
deem proper. A dependent sailor or soldier and his family may 
be removed to the town of his settlement. 

~ , 7 , The Maine School for the Deaf was established 

th °T) f 1876 as par ^ school system of 

16 ea ' the city of Portland, and in 1897 it was taken 

over by the state and became a state institution. It is a public 
school for the instruction of children, who, because of deafness, 
cannot be educated in the schools of the towns in which they live. 
Tuition and board are furnished free to children whose parents 
or guardians are residents of the State of Maine. The plant con¬ 
sists of an up to date school building of ten well-furnished school 
rooms, with a fully equipped gymnasium on the third floor and 
. play rooms in the basement. In the industrial building the older 
pupils are taught printing, carpentry, glazing, cabinet-making, 
basketry, chair-caning, sewing, dressmaking, weaving, cooking, 
ironing, etc. Three other buildings provide a dormitory for boys, 
a dormitory for older girls and dormitory for small girls and a 
hospital. There are usually in attendance about 100 pupils, rep¬ 
resenting every part of the state. Thirty persons are employed. 
Appropriation for maintenance for 1918 was $31,862.30. 


102 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE JUDICIARY. 


Development 
of the Court 
1607 


1606 

1632 


The Plymouth Company was provided with a 
code of laws by King James. By the code a 
president and councillors were elected annually. 
They had the power to make all needful laws. 
They sat as a court for civil cases. For all criminal cases of im¬ 
portance a jury of twelve men was required. All cases had to be 
tried within the colony. Sir George Popham was the first presi¬ 
dent and with him were five councillors. 

There is no record of any organized govern¬ 
ment, except the existence of a magistrate, be¬ 
tween 1606-1632. In 1632, under the New Eng¬ 
land charter of 1620, Aldsworth and Elbridge were granted a pa¬ 
tent for the Pemaquid region. It was known as the Plymouth 
Company and was granted the power to appoint all governors and 
make laws (eight patents were granted under this charter.) A 
representative form of government was established. The chief 
officers were elected by the people The Plymouth Company sur¬ 
rendered this charter in 1635 and the king appointed commission¬ 
ers to govern the colonies. 

Sir Ferdinando Gorges sent his nephew, Wil¬ 
liam Gorges, to govern his colony called New 
Somersetshire. He established a court in Saco. Associated with 
him were six commissioners. This was the first legal tribunal 
in Maine. 

Charles I granted to Ferdinando Gorges a char¬ 
ter, creating him Lord Palatine of all the terri¬ 
tory between the Piscataqua and Sagadahoc. He was then made 
absolute lord and proprietor of the Province of Maine. He estab¬ 
lished a legislative assembly of fifteen members, seven of whom 
constituted a court. All matters criminal and civil came before 


1636 


1639 


103 


Q 


this court. Inferior courts were established in each county. There 
were also commissioners, or trial justices, for each town. 

Alexander Rigby purchased the Lygonia patent 
and instituted a government and courts. This 
created a division which was settled in 1646, making the Kenne- 
bunk the dividing line between Gorges and Rigby. 

Massachusetts took over the two provinces and 
named them Yorkshire in 1653. The civil and 
judicial regulation of Massachusetts became the order in Maine, 
and continued until 1668. The judicial power was vested in their 
tribunals, the court of magistrates, consisting of the governor, 
deputy governor and assistants. It met semi-annually in Boston. 
The county court was held by the resident magistrate in each 
county, assisted by four freemen. These were elected by the vot¬ 
ers at the annual meeting, approved and commissioned by the leg¬ 
islature. This court held sessions in Maine twice a year. The 
third court had jurisdiction in all cases within the county where 
not more than forty shillings involved This court was held by a 
single magistrate without a jury. A special commission was es¬ 
tablished for the Kennebec patent in 1654 and with a slight differ¬ 
ence, the courts were like those of the rest of Maine. 


Iqqq Charles II was restored to the throne. He ap¬ 

pointed a commission which established new 
courts in the Gorges colony and also in the colony which had been 
created for the Duke of York. 


Massachusetts re-established her courts in 
Maine and continued to exercise power under 
the charter of Massachusetts. In 1678 Massachusetts purchased 
the Gorges patent and changed the government to harmonize with 
the charter granted to Ferdinando Gorges. Therefore they cre¬ 
ated a provincial president and two legislative houses, the lower 
to be elected by the towns, the upper branch of seven members 
constituted the supreme court. Former laws and precedents were 
to continue in force. 

1685 The co ^ on ^ a ^ barter of Massachusetts was re¬ 

voked, James II having succeeded to the throne. 


104 


He commissioned Joseph Dudley president of Massachusetts, New 
Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island. The president appointed fif¬ 
teen commissioners to assist him. A majority of the council con¬ 
stituted the superior court; it was to sit three times a year for the 
whole country. County courts were held by a number of the coun¬ 
cil assisted by an associate. 


The people revolted and took affairs into their 
own hands and formed a provisional govern¬ 
ment and resumed the administration of affairs under the colonial 
charter. 


1691 William and Mary granted a new charter unit¬ 

ing Plymouth, Massachusetts, Maine and Saga¬ 
dahoc under one civil government. The governor, lieutenant-gov¬ 
ernor and secretary of state were appointed by the crown, the leg¬ 
islative power was vested in two branches, a council of twenty- 
eight members and the house of representatives. The judiciary 
consisted of a superior court, consisting of a chief justice and four 
assistants, court of common pleas, quarter sessions and justices 
court, and later chancery, probate and admiralty courts were 
added. 


Massachusetts having adopted a state constitu¬ 
tion, changes were made in the judiciary, the 
superior court becoming the supreme judicial court. 

The number of supreme judicial judges was in¬ 
creased to seven. 

The number of supreme judicial courts was re¬ 
duced to five. 

A complete nisi prius system was established 
with five judges, one or more of whom held the 
trial terms and three the law terms. 


1780 


1800 


1804 


1805 


1820 


Maine having become a state, created a supreme 
judicial court of three members, any two of 
whom could hold court. 

The court was required to hold sessions in each 
of the twelve counties. In addition a term for 
jury trials was to be held by one of the justices in each county 


105 


1847 


1920 


except four, Franklin, Piscataquis, Washington, Hancock. 

The number of justices was increased to four 
and in 1852 to seven. Since then it has been 
increased to eight, which is the present number. 

The supreme judicial court now has a chief jus¬ 
tice and seven associate justices which are ap¬ 
pointed by the governor for a term of seven years. Forty-four 
nisi prius terms with a jury are held by the justices in the various 
counties of the state. The supreme court when sitting as a law 
court is by statute composed of five or more justices, but in prac¬ 
tice it is composed of the chief justice and five associate justices. 
The annual sessions of the law court are held in Bangor on the 
first Tuesday of June; in Portland on the fourth Tuesday of June; 
and in Augusta on the second Tuesday of December. 

A court of common pleas was established in 1822. This court 
was superseded by the district court in 1839, and this court was 
abolished by the legislature in 1854 and its work transferred to 
the supreme judicial court. 

On account of increasing business, four super¬ 
ior courts have been established, one at Port¬ 
land for the County of Cumberland; one at Au¬ 
gusta for the County of Kennebec; one at Auburn for the County 
of Androscoggin; and one at Bangor for the County of Penobscot. 

The probate court established under the Massa¬ 
chusetts law was continued under the constitu- 
In 1853 the office of judge and register was made 
term of four years. 

The office of justice of the peace was continued 
as it had existed under the laws of Massachu¬ 
setts. In 1860 their jurisdiction of trial of cases 
was taken away and the office of trial justice established for small 
cases, both civil and criminal. 

M • • 7 Municipal courts are established by special 

Court charters, having jurisdiction ranging from $20 


Superior 

Court 


Probate Court 

tion of Maine, 
elective with a 

Justice of 
the Peace 


justices. 


to $500 and the same criminal power as the trial 


106 


CHAPTER V. 

COURT PROCEDURE. 

4 Laic Suit ^ * s 0Ur P ur P ose indicate in a general way 
the modus operandi of our courts. We will 
start a law suit and carry it through to final judgment. Before 
starting the law suit, however, we would do well to ascertain 
just what place the law suit takes in our whole field of law. 

Law in a generic sense may be defined as the sum of all the 
rules enforced by the governing body upon our relations each 
to the other and to the state. From these rules of conduct, rights 
and privileges are secured and granted to the individual citizen. 
Correspondingly there are duties and obligations enforced upon 
other citizens. When one citizen starts a law suit to recover 
money damages or the possession of land or specific and peculiar 
personal property from another, he is calling upon the state to 
enforce those duties and obligations referred to above. 

Two Kinds of Law Suits—Generally speaking we have two 
distinct kinds of law suits. The first, a civil action, so-called, in 
which one citizen brings suit to recover money or goods or land 
from another, and second, a criminal action, so-called, in which 
the state authorities, representing the citizens of the state, bring 
action against a single citizen for violation of the laws designed 
to protect and perpetuate the life of the state. 

Civil Action—Civil actions may be divided into actions at law 
and actions in equity. Actions at law are the more common. 
They comprise the great mass of cases of which we read in the 
newspapers. Actions in equity arise because of peculiar situa¬ 
tions for which the law gives no remedy. To illustrate: at law 
for the purpose of bringing action, husband and wife are one and 
the same person, so that a husband or wife cannot vindicate his 
or her rights against the spouse in an action at law. The law 
recognizes the rights of the two individuals, but does not provide 


107 


a remedy by the original law suit. A principle of equity is that 
there shall be no right without a remedy, and acting upon this 
principle, equity, as a branch of jurisprudence, allows the wife 
or husband to bring a suit against the other. The case of partners 
in business is an analogous situation. The business partner must 
bring an action in equity to establish his rights againt his as¬ 
sociate so long as the partnership exists. So much for the differ¬ 
ence between law and equity. 

Civil actions at law may be again divided into actions ex con¬ 
tractu and actions ex delicto. That is, actions arising out of a 
contract, and actions arising out of a wrong done to the plain¬ 
tiff by the defendant independent of any contract relationship 
between them. These two forms of action at law proceed 
throughout courts in practically the same manner. 

Probate - Law—Another class of cases from which suits in both 
law and equity proceed is comprised in what we call Probate 
Law, the law concerned with the settlement of the estates of de¬ 
cedents, and to some extent with the adoption of children and the 
rights between husband and wife. Years ago in England this 
branch of law was administered by the Ecclesiastical courts. 
Gradually, however, the law courts took over these matters and 
now in all the states in this country we have courts whose sole 
function is to administer the law in this class of cases. These 
functions and duties are limited by statutes. With this introduc¬ 
tion we again start our law suit and while proceeding to final 
judgment, we learn of our system of courts. 

John Jones owes me $15.00 as I claim and he refuses to pay; con¬ 
sequently I bring a suit against him. I will bring my action in 
an inferior court because of the small amount involved. The in¬ 
ferior courts in Maine consist of the municipal courts of the var¬ 
ious cities and the trial justice courts. The jurisdiction of these 
courts is limited by statute. Trial justices have jurisdiction in 
most matters involving not more than $20.00 value. 

The jurisdiction of municipal courts usually extends over 
the entire county and covers a subject matter of from $50.00 to 
$1000 in value, depending upon the amount fixed in the statute in 


108 


which the court is granted a charter. If my claim against John 
Jones was for an amount in excess of the limitation in the char¬ 
ter of the court, I would be required to bring suit in a court of 
general jurisdiction, the superior or supreme court of the county. 
On the other hand, while I can bring suit in the court of general 
jurisdiction if my subject matter is of value of less than $20.00, 
should I do so, I would recover only one-fourth the costs. This 
is a penalty provided by the law to prevent small actions being 
brought in the first instance in the upper courts. 

In bringing suit against John Jones, I get an attorney to pur¬ 
chase from the judge of the municipal court a writ, bearing the 
signature and seal of the judge. The attorney inserts in this 
writ a declaration, so-called, which is a statement of my claim, 
in the language required by the law. This writ and declaration 
is served upon the defendant, John Jones, by an officer, a deputy 
sheriff or a constable, who makes return on the writ that he has 
served the same and turns it into court. 

The Trial of the Suit—The procedure in court is generally 
understood. The attorney for the plaintiff reads the writ, makes 
an opening statement covering his client's claim and then intro¬ 
duces his evidence through the sworn testimony of witnesses. The 
attorney for the other side then cross-examines these witnesses, 
if he desires. At the close of the plaintiff’s evidence his attor¬ 
ney ‘’rests” as we say, and says in effect that in the absence of 
any evidence introduced by the defendant he is entitled to re¬ 
cover according to the rules of law. The attorney for the de¬ 
fendant then makes his opening statement, introduces his evi¬ 
dence in like manner, subject to cross-examination, and “rests.” 
Then either party may introduce evidence in rebuttal of evidence 
introduced by the other party. Then come the arguments, the 
counsel for the defendant always arguing first. The counsel for 
the plaintiff has the opening and the close as we say. This pro¬ 
cedure obtains in Maine. It is varied in some other states. In 
many states, for instance in New York, the attorney for the de¬ 
fense makes his opening statement immediately following that of 


109 


the plaintiff, before the introduction of any evidence by either 
side. 

The municipal court finds that John Jones owes me, as I have 
claimed, and John Jones takes an appeal. In the counties of An¬ 
droscoggin, Kennebec, Cumberland and Penobscot, this appeal is 
taken to the superior court, and in other counties to the supreme 
court. 

Jury Trial—The superior and supreme courts are the courts 
of jury trial. In Maine we began with no superior court. Jury 
trials were held in each of the sixteen counties, the term of court 
being presided over by a justice from the supreme court. In the 
courities mentioned above it has been considered that the amount 
of business required the introduction of further courts, conse¬ 
quently superior courts have been organized. In all of the four 
counties these superior courts have exclusive jurisdiction of civil 
and criminal appeals and of the trial of all criminal cases. Other¬ 
wise and except for some limitations on the superior courts, the 
supreme and superior courts of the four counties mentioned 
above are to all intents and purposes concurrent in their juris¬ 
diction. In the other twelve counties cases are appealed directly 
to the supreme court. 

In these upper courts the procedure is the same as in the lower 
court and as previously outlined, except that we have the case 
tried with the intervention of a jury. This jury is called the petit 
jury. It consists of twelve men selected from the county by the 
municipal officers of the towns upon direction from the clerk of 
court. After the introduction of the evidence, the judge delivers 
to the jury a charge in which he outlines to them the rules of law 
applicable to the case. The jury then retires and decides the 
question of fact in the case in accordance with the rules of law 
given them by the judge. In case of a verdict for either party 
in a civil action, the other party has the right to proceed to a 
higher court. The supreme court sitting in banc is a law court, 
and solely for the purpose of determining questions of law. In 
case of the inability of the jury to agree and the impossibility in 


110 


the opinion of the presiding justice of an agreement, the case 
stands as though it had not been tried at all and is in order for 
trial again at the next term of the court. 

The Law Court—The right of either party in a civil action to 
take the case to the law court in banc must come from one of the 
two following claims: first, that the rules of law given by the 
judge, for instance in the admission or exclusion of evidence or 
in his charge to the jury were incorrect, or second, that the find¬ 
ing of fact by the jury is inconsistent with the evidence to such 
an extent that reasonable men could not have found as the jury 
did. In the first mentioned class of cases the attorney for the 
losing party prepares and presents to the law court sitting 
in banc a bill of exceptions, so-called, in which he states the 
ruling of the court below which was claimed to be incorrect. In 
the second class of cases the attorney for the losing party makes 
a motion for a new trial to the law court. A case may go to the 
law court from the jury trial court on both exceptions and mo¬ 
tion. In my suit against John Jones in which the lower court 
found for me and to which the defendant took an appeal, let us 
assume that the jury in the upper court found against me, owing 
as I claim to certain errors of the judge in instructing the jury 
as to the law. So I have prepared a bill of exceptions which I 
have prosecuted to the law court. 

The law court, the court of last resort, is comprised of all the 
eight judges of the supreme judicial court. The jury trial courts 
meet at a fixed time in the various counties, each county having 
from three to five terms of court a year. The law court meets 
three times a year; at Bangor on the first Tuesday in June; at 
Portland on the fourth Tuesday of June; at Augusta on the sec¬ 
ond Tuesday of December. Of the eight judges only six sit, the 
chief justice of the court being always included in this six. The 
others are determined by previous arrangement. In many in¬ 
stances it will appear that one of the sitting justices presided at 
the trial of the case in the jury court below. When this occurs, 
that justice must retire and can have nothing to do with the con- 


111 


sideration of the case or the decision of the court. Consequently 
many cases are argued before, considered, and decided by only 
live of the justices. The procedure in the law court before the 
live or six justices sitting, is more simple than at the jury trial. 
The moving party, that is, the party aggrieved by the decision of 
the lower court, presents his oral and written argument, followed 
by his opponent. The moving party may reserve a portion of his 
time, originally one hour, for rebuttal. Usually, however, the 
generally recognized inability of any attorney to stop talking 
once he has started, results in no time being taken for rebuttal. 

The decision of the law court may be rendered at the time of 
argument, or it may not be rendered until a year or more after the 
case is heard. Generally, however, a written opinion decisive of 
the case is returned by the law court within six months after argu¬ 
ment. These written opinions are put together in chronological 
order and comprise the reports, so-called, in which the courts in¬ 
terpret the law, and which furnish the great mass of material 
from which our law comes. 

In my case against John Jones, the law court having decided in 
my favor, exceptions were sustained and the case was returned to 
the next term of the jury trial court in the county in which it was 
originally heard, there to have a new trial, and if necessary after 
the decision of the jury, to come to the law court again. Cases are 
on record in Maine where at least three jury trials have been had 
in this manner, although such a situation is the exception. So 
much for civil actions at law. 

Actions in Equity—An action in equity would be tried in the 
first instance before a judge of the supreme cotirt. No inferior 
court has jurisdiction over equity matters, nor has any superior 
court. The case is tried before the single justice without the in¬ 
tervention of a jury, unless the counsel for the one side or the 
other frames issues of fact for jury determination, approved by 
the presiding justice. In which case a jury is used for this pur¬ 
pose. Its verdict is not binding as in the case of an action at 
law, but is merely advisory. It has been the practice in Maine, 


112 


however, for the presiding justice to accept the advisory opinion 
of the jury. Ex-Chief Justice Lucilius A. Emery, stated shortly 
before his death, that he never knew of a case in which a justice 
in Maine refused the jury’s advisory opinion, but such cases are of 
record. 


Criminal 

Cases 


A criminal action is started by a complaint and 
warrant or by indictment. The inferior courts 
have jurisdiction over the lesser offenses, and 
further have the power of hearing evidence in the case of the high¬ 
er offenses and of holding defendant under bonds for the action 
of the upper court. 

After the complaint and warrant and a verdict of guilty 
in the lower court, the case goes on appeal to the supreme court, 
or in the four counties having superior courts to the superior 
court. In case the alleged crime was one of which the lower court 
had, by statute, jurisdiction, the case is then placed on the trial 
list and must be tried. The county attorney appears for the state 
in all cases. If on the other hand the case is one in which because 
of the enormity of the offense the inferior court has only the 
power to bind over, then in that event action by the grand jury 
is required. 

This is a body of men selected in a manner 
similar to the means employed in the selection 
of the petit jury. It usually consists of twenty-three men, and 
must be not less than thirteen. Twelve must vote for an indict¬ 
ment, otherwise, no indictment. At the beginning of the term of 
court the county attorney calls the grand jury into session and 
presents to them evidence through sworn witnesses, respecting 
those violations of the law which he believes it is his duty to call 
to their attention. The grand jury hear only one side, that of the 
state. They do not determine that the accused is guilty, merely 
that evidence indicates the probability of his guilt and justifies 
a trial. Generally speaking, the grand jury votes “a true bill,” 
that is, an indictment against the accused in nearly all cases 
which the county attorney requests. The county attorney does 
not always ask for an indictment after presenting the evidence to 


Grand Jury 


[ 8 ] 


113 


the grand jury for the very practical reason that he feels that in 
some cases the evidence would not satisfy the petit jury of guilt 
beyond a reasonable doubt, and so would not justify the expense 
of a trial. Grand juries have other duties beyond that of return¬ 
ing indictments. As guardians of the life and prosperity of the 
state and consequently its citizens, they have the power to return 
a presentment without returning an indictment against any in¬ 
dividual. They have the right to investigate and report to the 
citizens of the county, as well as a right to accuse of the commis¬ 
sion of crime. For instance, several years ago there occurred in 
Boston the famous Arcadia fire, in which a number of lodgers 
were burned to death in a lodging house. The grand jury re¬ 
turned a presentment, giving to the citizens of,the county a state¬ 
ment of the result of their investigations, together with recom¬ 
mendations, but without any indictment of the proprietor of the 
lodging house or any other individual. 

When the grand jury has considered all the matters brought 
before it by the county attorney, it rises, as we say, reports its 
indictments and is discharged, subject to recall at the next term 
of court or earlier if emergency arises. After the indictment is 
returned the accused must be apprehended and either await trial 
in custody or give bonds for his appearance on the day of the 
trial. 

Trial of The trial of criminal cases proceeds in much 

Criminal Cases the same manner as that of the civil case, and 
exceptions and appeal may be taken by the respondent to the law 
court after jury verdict against him, in much the same manner 
although under different statute provisions. There is this im¬ 
portant distinction, the state has no right of exception or appeal 
—in the State of Maine. The respondent, however, has all the 
rights of appeal and exception and to a new trial in a manner 
analogous to the procedure in the trial of civil cases. Another 
distinction should be noted. The verdict of a jury in a civil case 
is rendered upon the basis of a preponderance of the evidence 
presented. The plaintiff has the burden of proof, but once the 
scales tip one way or the other, their verdict is rendered that 


114 


way. In criminal cases a different rule applies. Not only has 
the state the burden of proof, but it must satisfy the jury that the 
accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury must find 
from the facts as they believe them, that there exists no doubt of 
the guilt of the accused which a man could with reason consider. 

Convicted criminals are sentenced to imprisonment or fine or 
both. If the offense is a minor one, according to a classification 
made by the statutes of the state, it is considered a misdemeanor, 
and imprisonment is in the jail of the county. Imprisonment for 
the higher offenses, felonies, is had in the state prison, regard¬ 
less of the county in which the conviction is had. So much for 
criminal cases. 


Probate Cases 


We have seen that the jurisdiction of the es¬ 
tates of deceased persons was originally invest¬ 
ed in the Ecclesiastical courts, and then was taken over by the 
law courts in England and comes to us limited by the statutes of 
the various states. We can trace our probate court by taking as 
an example an ordinary will case, so-called. John Jones makes 
his will, according to formalities required by law, including the 
attestation of three witnesses to his signature, unless the will is 
nuncupative, that is, one made by the deceased orally instead of 
in writing, owing to the exigencies at the time it is declared. 
Upon the death of John Jones, this will is presented for probate, 
and must be proved to be the will of the deceased. The usual 
objections to a will are, first, that the deceased was of unsound 
mind when he executed the will, or, second, that it was made un¬ 
der the undue influence on the part of another individual, usually 
one who benefits greatly by the will, or, third, that it fails to al¬ 
low to some heir that part of the estate of the deceased which the 
law guarantees to him. These questions are decided in the first 
instance by the judge of probate. From his decision an appeal 
may be taken to the Court of Probate, which is the Supreme Ju¬ 
dicial Court for the county, where the will is presented for pro¬ 
bate. There the case is heard as in the case of an equity hear¬ 
ing by a single justice without the intervention of a jury, unless 
issues of fact are framed. From the decision of the Supreme 


115 



Court of Probate, constituted as above noted, an appeal lies to 
the law court. In the law court the procedure is as previously 
outlined in civil cases. Upon a final determination by the law 
court sustaining or rejecting the will, the case goes back to the 
judge of probate for action in accordance with the opinion of the 
law court. If the will is sustained and the decision of the judge 
of probate thereby affirmed, the executor nominated by the will 
to handle the estate, or if no executor was nominated, the ad¬ 
ministrator, proceeds to pay the debts of the deceased and dis¬ 
tributes the remaining assets in accordance with the terms of 
the administrator proceeds to pay the debts of the deceased and 
distributes the remaining assets in accordance with the terms of 
the will. If the will is rejected or if the deceased left no will, an 
administrator is appointed who pays the debts of the deceased 
and divides the balance remaining among the heirs in accordance 
with the statute of distribution. In performing his duties, the 
executor or administrator is placed under bond unless the will 
provides otherwise, and even then if the judge of probate consid¬ 
ers it advisable. He is further required to make an accounting 
of his doings and file with the court vouchers for all disburse¬ 
ments. 

In addition to this source of jurisdiction the probate courts 
have, in part jurisdiction over the adoption of children, the 
change of name of an individual, and the rights between husband 
and wife. In some of these cases jurisdiction is concurrent 
with that of the supreme courts and in fact of the municipal 
courts as, for instance, in a statute proceeding by a wife against 
a husband for non-support of herself or minor children. 

A recent statute in Maine has given to probate courts a wide 
jurisdiction concurrent with that of the supreme court in all 
cases of equity suits, arising out of a settlement of estates, and 
there is a sentiment in the State of Maine today to further ex¬ 
tend the jurisdiction of probate courts. For example, to give to 
probate courts jurisdiction over divorce cases concurrent with 
the supreme and superior courts. In fact the tendency is to ex¬ 
tend rather than limit the jurisdiction of the probate courts. 


116 


Juvenile and 

Domestic 

Relations 

Courts 

In other and larger states we have the courts 
further divided. Juvenile courts in which the 
delinquencies of minors are considered, and 
courts of domestic relations, in which rights 
between husband and wife, including divorce, 


axe considered, are found in many states. In Maine these var¬ 
ious matters are considered in our supreme and superior courts. 


117 





PART V. 

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


119 







CHAPTER I. 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


The government of the United States as provided by the con¬ 
stitution has three divisions: (1) Executive, (2) Legislative, 
(3) Judicial. 

The executive department includes the president, vice-presi¬ 
dent and the cabinet. The president and vice-president are elects 
ed by the vote of state electors chosen by the voters in each state, 
each state having as many electors as it has senators and repre¬ 
sentatives. The state votes for its electors on the Tuesday after 
the first Monday in November every fourth year. Each political 
party nominates a set of electoral candidates for whom the people 
vote. The successful party candidates are pledged to vote for the 
man nominated for president at their national convention. The 
electors meet at their state capitol and vote for their candidate. 
The votes are carried to Washington by a messenger who gives 
them to the president of the senate. He counts them in the pres¬ 
ence of both houses, and the names of the candidates elected are 
announced. In case of a tie vote in the electoral college for presi¬ 
dent, the House decides who shall be the president, and in the 
case of a tie vote in the electoral college for the vice-president, the 
Senate decides who shall be vice-president. 


The President 


The president takes his oath of office on the 
fourth of March following his election. His du¬ 
ties are as follows: Commander of the army and navy; to make 
treaties with the consent of the Senate; to appoint the members 
of his cabinet; to veto any measure; to appoint ambassadors and 
consuls, justices and judges with the consent of the Senate; to 
grant pardons and reprieves; to recommened measures to Con¬ 
gress. 


Vice-President 


The vice-president takes office on the fourth 
of March following his election, and serves 


121 


four years. His chief duty is to preside over the Senate. As a 
member of the Senate he has no vote except in cases of a tie. In 
case the office of president becomes vacant, he succeeds to the 
presidency. He in turn would be succeeded by the secretary of 
state, who would be succeeded by each member of the cabinet in 
turn. 


The Cabinet has ten members appointed by 
the president to serve at his pleasure. They 
are an advisory council and are the heads of the executive de¬ 
partments. 

The secretary of state has charge of foreign 
affairs, controls diplomatic agents, issues pass¬ 
ports. The great seal and the important state 
papers are in his keeping. 


The Cabinet 


Secretary 
of State 


This secretary is responsible for the financial 
business of the country. He collects all reve¬ 
nues and customs, issues bonds, and has con¬ 
trol of the mint and the printing of money. The Secret Service 
Bureau is under his direction. 


Secretary of 
the Treasury 


Secretary 
of War 


All military matters are in charge of the Sec¬ 
retary of War; army plans, and all purchases 
and transportation for the army. He is re¬ 
sponsible for the West Point Military Academy. He directs the 
work of river and harbor improvements. The important Bureau 
of Insular Affairs is a part of his department. 


Attorney 

General 


The attorney general is the legal advisor of the 
president and the other government officials. 
All prosecutions for violation of the federal 
law are under his supervision. The district-attorneys are mem¬ 
bers of his department. He also has charge of the Bureau of In¬ 
vestigations, which investigates practically all violations of fed¬ 
eral law. 


Postmaster 

General 


The postmaster general has charge of the 
United States mail service, the establishing of 
small postoffices, the appointing of the less im- 


122 


portant postmasters, and he also has charge of the Postal Sav¬ 
ings Banks. 


Secretary of 
the Navy 

yards and the 


All naval affairs are under the control of the 
secretary of the navy. He has charge of the 
construction of ships, the control of the navy 
naval academy at Annapolis. 


Secretary of 
the Interior 

office. 


This official has charge of the public lands, In¬ 
dian bureau, preservation of natural resources, 
bureau of education, patents, and the pension 


The secretary of agriculture has charge of all 
work relating to the farm life of the people, 
the inspection and analysis of fertilizers, bio¬ 
logical survey, forestry service and weather bureau. 


Secretary of 
Agriculture 


This department has charge of consul reports, 
the census, navigation, fisheries, coast surveys, 
foreign and domestic commerce, and all work 

of transportation. 

The secretary of labor has charge of emigra¬ 
tion, and labor. He also has charge of the 
Children's Bureau. 

.Ambassadors are the representatives of the 
President in other countries, and are, there¬ 
fore, supposed to rank in the government to which they are sent 
as the President would, if he were present in person. 


Secretary of 
Commerce 


Secretary of 
Labor 

Ambassadors 


The diplomatic persons next in rank are the 
envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipo¬ 
tentiary. They are sent to countries which send like representa¬ 
tives to the United States. Their residences are known as lega¬ 
tions. 

The consular service deals with commercial 
problems. There are about 700 consular offi¬ 
cers in this service. They are our agents in 
the commercial enterprises in which the United States is en- 


Ministers 


Consular 

Service 


123 


gaged. Their importance is seen from the fact that our foreign 
trade is over $3,000,000,000 annually. The consuls are on the 
watch for new trade opportunities. They gather and tabulate 
every kind of data dealing with commerce. 


124 


CHAPTER II. 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 


The Senate 


The House of* 
Representatives 


The law making power of the government is with the Congress, 
which is composed of the Senate and the House of Representa¬ 
tives. 

Each state is represented by two senators. Sen¬ 
ators are elected by the people for a term of six 
years. They must be thirty years old, a citizen of the United 
States nine years, and a resident of the state which they repre¬ 
sent. 

Each state is divided into congressional dis¬ 
tricts, based upon its population. The appor¬ 
tionment of 1910 gave one representative for 
every 211,877 inhabitants. This allowed Maine four districts and 
four representatives. Should the apportionment be increased 
by the 1920 census, Maine might probably be reduced to three 
districts because our population has not increased as fast as that 
of other states. A representative must be twenty-five years old, 
live in the state he represents, and have been a citizen of the 
United States seven years. 

About 45,000 bills are introduced each year. 
These bills go into a hopper, a large basket 
near the speaker's desk. The speaker refers 
each bill to some committee. The journal clerk records the bills. 
They go to the government printing office and 625 copies of each 
bill are printed. We will select one bill and follow it through the 
house and senate. If it goes through without serious opposition, 
the steps are as follows: The bill is discussed by the committee 
to which it was referred. They vote to report it to the house anc, 
recommend its passage. The speaker orders it printed in the cal- 

* House voted to increase the apportionment and Maine will have after 1923 only 
three representatives. 


How Congress 
Passes a Bill 


125 


endar. Again the clerk makes a record of the bill and it goes 
to the printing office where 1000 copies are printed. On the day 
called calendar Wednesday, the speaker directs the call of the 
committees. The chairman of the committee having the bill in 
charge (when his committee is called) calls up the bill. The 
speaker announces that the clerk will report the bill. The bill 
with amendments- is read. It is then discussed, each party hav¬ 
ing an equal amount of time, if it is a party question. A vote 
is taken and the bill is passed. The clerk then makes a third 
record of the bill. A certified copy is carried to the Senate by the 
clerk. Upon his arrival at the senate the sergeant-at-arms an¬ 
nounces a message from the house. The house clerk states to 
the senate that the house has passed this bill. The vice-president 
takes the bill and refers it to the proper committee. After con¬ 
sideration by this committee it is reported to the senate and 
placed on the calendar. The senate then orders the bill to be en¬ 
grossed. The bill is read by title only and after discussion a vote 
is taken and the bill is passed. Then it is returned to the house 
and referred to the committee on enrolled bills. This committee 
examines it and reports that it is properly enrolled, after which 
the speaker signs it and sends it to the senate. Then the vice- 
president signs and the committee on enrolled bills sends it to 
the president, who approves it with his signature. One of the 
president's secretaries then carries a written message from the 
president to the senate and house that he has approved the bill. 


In addition to the representatives elected there 
are commissions in the House representing 
Alaska, Philippines, Porto Rico and Hawaii. 
They do not vote but have every other privilege. 


Congressional 

Commissions 


Congressional 

Sessions 


Congress holds two sessions, one begins the 
first Monday in December on the even years 
and ends the following fourth day of March. 
The other session begins on the first Monday of December on the 
odd years and may continue until the next session. 


126 


All bills for revenue must originate in the 
house. Congress raises taxes, borrows money 
and regulates commerce with each state and, 
foreign nations. Congress establishes post roads and postoffices; 
grants patents and copyrights; establishes courts inferior to the 
supreme court; declares war; provides for the army and navy. 

The House carries on its business through the 
following committees: Agriculture, Appro¬ 
priation, Liquor Traffic, Banking, Foreign Af¬ 
fairs, Immigration, Labor, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Mili¬ 
tary Affairs, Naval Affairs, Rivers and Harbors, and Ways and 
Means. This last named committee frames the tariff bills. 

The Senate tries all impeachment cases. The 
Senate committees are as follows: Rules, Na¬ 
val Affairs, Railroads, Industrial, Military, 
Foreign Relations, Finance, Commerce, Appropriation, Banking 
and Currency, Agriculture and Forestry. 


Work of 
Congress 


House 

Committees 


Duties of 
the Senate 


127 


CHAPTER III. 

COMMISSIONERS. 


^ . In addition to the regular departments for 

C 07Y17YIZSSZ071S 

carrying on the business of the nation, various 
commissions have been created. 


Civil Service 


This commission has three members whose 
business it is to examine candidates for clerk¬ 
ships in the departments. More than one hundred thousand 
clerks are employed. Some of the clerks are appointed by the 
president with the consent of the senate, and some are appoint¬ 
ed by the president, but most of the positions are filled through 
civil service examinations. 


Interstate 

Commerce 

Commission 


This commission has seven members, whose 
work it is to direct the interstate commerce 
and transportation. 


Federal Trade 
Commission 


The Federal Trade Commission has five mem¬ 
bers, whose work is to see that all interstate 
trade is carried on in harmony with federal 


trade regulations. 


Federal 
Reserve Board 


This board has seven members charged with 
the work of the federal banking system. 


This commission provides for the improvement 
of navigation and the development of water 
power. The commission is composed of the 
Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secre¬ 
tary of Agriculture. 


Federal Power 
Commission 


128 


CHAPTER IV. 


INSULAR POSSESSIONS. 


Hawaii 


The United States exercises jurisdiction over 3000 islands with 
a population of 10,000,000. These islands have a combined area 
of 70,000 square miles. 

The Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands were con¬ 
stituted on June 14, 1900 the Territory of 
Hawaii. There is a Legislature of two Houses, a Senate of 15 
members elected for four years, and a House of Representatives 
of 30 members elected for two years. Sessions, limited to sixty 
days, are held biennially. The governor and secretary are ap¬ 
pointed for four years by the president of the United States. The 
Territory is represented in Congress by a delegate elected bien¬ 
nially. 

The estimated population on June 30, 1919, was 250,627. Haw¬ 
aii has a supreme court, circuit courts, district courts and a land 
registration court. The judges of the supreme and circuit courts 
are appointed by the United States president; the district magis¬ 
trates by the governor of Hawaii. There is also a United States 
District Court, the judges of which are appointed by the Presi¬ 
dent. 

Porto Rico, by the treaty of December 10, 1898, 
was ceded by Spain to the United States. Its 
determined by the “Organic Act” of Congress 
(1917) known as the “Jones Act,” the main features of which 
are the granting of American citizenship to the people of Porto 
Rico, the separation of the legislative and executive functions, 
extension of the appointive judiciary system and an elective sen¬ 
ate. Porto Rico has representative government, the franchise 
being restricted to citizens of the United States twenty-one years 
of age or over, residence (one year) and such additional qualifi¬ 
cations as may be prescribed by the legislature of Porto Rico, but 


Porto Rico 
constitution is 


[ 9 ] 


129 


no property qualification may be imposed. The executive power 
resides in a governor appointed by the President of the United 
States. The legislative functions are vested in the legislature 
which consists of two elective houses; the Senate, composed of 19 
members (2 from each of the 7 senatorial districts and 5 senators 
at large), and the House of Representatives composed of 39 mem¬ 
bers (1 from each of the 35 representative districts and 4 elected 
at large.) Porto Rico is represented in Congress by a Resident 
Commisioner to the United States elected by the people for a term 
of four years. There are six heads of departments, who form 
a Council to the Governor known as the executive council. The 
essential features of the United States civil service have been in¬ 
corporated into a local law by the Legislature. The judiciary 
comprises an Attorney General and staff and a United States 
court apointed by the President; a Supreme Court of 5 members 
also appointed by the President; 7 District Courts appointed by 
the Governor; and 34 municipal courts, the judges and officials 
of which, as well as the 51 justices of the peace, are appointed by 
the Governor. 

The Philippine Islands are now under civil 
Philippine government. The Governor-General, who is 

Islands the Chief Executive, the Vice-Governor, who is 

also the Secretary of the Department of Public 
Instruction, the Auditor and the Deputy Auditor are all appoint¬ 
ed by the President of the United States. Both branches of the 
Legislative Body—the Philippine Senate and the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives—are elected. The members of the upper and lower 
houses of the Legislature are elected for terms of six and three 
years respectively, and the Legislature elects two Resident Com¬ 
missioners to the United States, who hold office for the term of 
three years. There are six Executive Departments: Interior, 
Public Instruction, Finance, Justice, Agriculture and Natural Re¬ 
sources, and Commerce and Communications. The Secretaries 
of Departments, appointed by the Governor-General by and with 
the consent of the Philippine Senate, are all Filipinos, with the 
exception of the Secretary of the Department of Public Instruc- 


130 


tion who is an American. The islands are subdivided into 38 
provinces. There are two classes of provinces, viz., regular and 
special. Thirty-three of the provinces are regular, and the rest 
special. The government of each of the regular provinces is vest¬ 
ed in a provincial board composed of a governor and two mem¬ 
bers. The governor is the chief executive of the province and 
presiding officer of the board. He and the members of the board 
are elected by popular vote. The governors of the special prov¬ 
inces, with the exception of one also elected by popular vote, are 
appointed by the Governor-General with the advice and consent 
of the Philippine Senate. The government of the towns is prac¬ 
tically autonomous, the officials being elected by the qualified vot¬ 
ers of the municipality and serving for three years. The officials 
consist of a president, vice-president and councillors, the latter 
varying in number according to population. Local municipal 
government has been instituted in about 814 municipalities and 
247 towns. For the administration of justice there are: A su¬ 
preme court, with a chief justice and eight associate justices; 26 
judicial districts, each with a judge of first instance, except the 
ninth district, which has four judges, the same covering the city 
of Manila. There is also one justice of the peace and one auxil¬ 
iary justice for each organized municipality and for such other 
towns or places as may be determined by resolution of the Phil¬ 
ippine Senate. Public order is maintained through the munici¬ 
pal police and the Philippines Constabulary. The strength of the 
Constabulary at the close of 1918 was 360 officers and 5,708 en¬ 
listed men, distributed throughout the Archipelago. The United 
States maintains in the Philippine Islands a force of about 5,600 
troops of the U. S. Army, and about 8,700 Philippine Scouts. In 
March, 1917, an Act was passed to establish a militia which 
should consist of every able-bodied male citizen of the Philippine 
Islands between the ages of 18 and 45. The Archipelago is di¬ 
vided into 48 educational divisions. The teaching staff comprises 
406 American teachers for all grades, 1,370 Filipino teachers on 
Insular pay, and 10,451 Filipino teachers paid by the municipali¬ 
ties. English is taught in all the public schools of the islands, to 


131 


the number of 4,747. In 1917-18 there was an annual enrollment 
of 671,398 pupils in the public schools. The annual expenditure 
on education is about 5,000,000 dollars. 

In addition to our insular possessions, we have separate meth¬ 
ods of governing our other territories, Alaska and District of Co¬ 
lumbia. 

Alaska was purchased by the United States 

from Russia under the treaty of March 30, 
1867, the purchase price having been $7,200,000. The Governor 
is appointed by the President of the United States for four years, 
and is assisted by a Surveyor-General, who is ex-officio Secretary 
of the Territory, and other officials. By Act of Congress ap¬ 
proved August 24, 1912, Alaska became a Territory, with a legis¬ 
lative assembly consisting of 8 senators and 16 representatives. 
Congress reserved to itself the right to legislate on certain sub¬ 
jects, so that the territory is now governed co-jointly by Congress 
at Washington and by the local legislative assembly. Regular 
sessions are held biennially. Special sessions may be called by 
the governor. In 1919 there were 62 schools in Alaska with 3,164 
enrolled pupils and 135 teachers. Total cost of instruction, 
280,563 dollars. For the administration of justice the territory 
is constituted as a judicial district with 4 sub-divisions and 4 
courts. 


132 


CHAPTER V. 

THE JUDICIARY. 


The federal constitution provides for the Supreme Court. The 
inferior courts are established by Congress. The judges of all 
Federal Courts are appointed by the President and confirmed by 
the Senate. Unless they resign they serve for life, if not im¬ 
peached. There are three classes of Federal Courts: 


The Supreme Court, having nine members, sits 
from October to May each year. It has orig¬ 
inal jurisdiction in comparatively few cases. 



Most of the cases are first tried in other courts. 


The country is divided into nine districts. In 
each of the nine judicial districts, there is a 
circuit court of appeals, consisting of a number 
of judges. In three of these courts there are 



four judges and in one of them two. In the other five there are 
three judges. Appeals are taken from the circuit court to the 
Supreme Court. 


These courts are held by a district judge. They 
try cases entitled to pass beyond the state 
courts. 


District 

Courts 


Federal courts have jurisdiction over all violations of federal 
law; over cases between states, or citizens of different states. If 
a question of federal law is involved a federal court may review 
the decision of the highest state court. 


Court of 
Claims 


This court hears all claims brought against the 
United States, except claims for pensions. 


Court of 

Custom 

Appeals 


This court has jurisdiction over all cases in¬ 
volving customs. 


133 


i 



CHAPTER VI. 

LEGAL POLITICAL TERMS. 


The law by which an alien judged to be dan¬ 
gerous to the peace and liberties of America 
may be deported. Sedition consists in conspi¬ 
racy against the government; the utterance of false, scandalous 
or malicious writing, etc., against the Government by either 
aliens or citizens. 

The right of the government to condemn and 
take private property for public use, the courts 
to determine the value by jury decision. 

The grant of special privilege which enables a 
corporation in a state or municipality to do 
Also the right of an individual to vote. 

An order or writ, obtained from a judge of the 
court, commanding that the designated prison¬ 
er be immediately brought into court for examination. The right 
of Habeas Corpus is especially provided for in Federal and State 
Constitutions, and is intended to prevent the illegal detention of 
persons falsely accused of misdeed. 

A writ compelling an officer or corporation to 
perform his or its public duty, which may have 
been omitted, neglected or refused. 

The plea of having been at the alleged time of 
commission of an act elsewhere than at the al¬ 
leged place of commission. 


Alien and 
Sedition Law 


Eminent 
Domain 

Franchise 
business. 
Habeas Corpus 


Mandamus 


Alibi 


Et Ali 
Non Compos 
Mentis 

Feme Sole 
Feme Covert 


And others. 

Not of sound mind, memory or understanding. 

A single woman. 

A married woman. 


134 


De Facto 

Statute of 
Limitations 


Actually. A term used to denote a thing ac¬ 
tually done. 

The act limiting time within which actions may 
be brought. 


Religious 

Freedom 


The constitution guarantees to all men the 
right to worship God according to the dictates 
of their own consciences, puts all religious 
sects on an equality before the law, and prohibits any religious 
test as a qualification for public office; but religious observances 
must be so conducted as not to disturb the public peace or the 
rights of others, and without practices which are immoral or il¬ 
legal. While there is no established church or state religion, the 
courts recognize Christianity as the prevailing religion of the 
country. 


The people have a right at all times to assemble 
in a peaceable and orderly manner, and to pe¬ 
tition any branch of the government for a re¬ 
dress of grievances. 

Every citizen may freely express his opinion 
on any subject, laws regulating or restraining 
the freedom of the press being expressly for¬ 
bidden ; but the author or publisher is, of course, liable for the is¬ 
suance of libellous or scandalous matter. 

The persons, houses, papers and possessions of 
the people are secured against unreasonable 
searches and seizures. Search warrants may 
be issued only on probably cause, supported by oath or affirmation 
and must particularly describe the place to be searched and the 
thing to be searched for. 

Every citizen has a right to keep and bear 

A 'Y* / yyj o 

arms for the common defense, but this does not 
include the right to carry concealed weapons, or such as are pri¬ 
marily designed for personal encounters. 

A standing army may not be kept up in time of 
peace without the consent of the legislature, 


Assembly and 
Petition 


Freedom of 
the Press 


Search and 
Seizure 


Standing Army 


135 


Taxation 


Jurisdiction 


nor may soldiers in time of peace be quartered in any house, 
without the consent of the owner or occupant. 

Private property may not be taken for public 
use without just compensation, nor unless the 
public need requires it. No tax may be laid on the people with¬ 
out their consent, given directly or through their representatives 
in the legislature, and only the legislature may suspend the oper¬ 
ation of a law. 

Jurisdiction, in its legal use means the right of 
a court to consider or try a case. Jurisdiction 
may be either original or appellate, exclusive or concurrent. Orig¬ 
inal jurisdiction is the right to try the case in the first instance; 
appellate jurisdiction, the right to try a case appealed to it from 
another, usually a lower, court; exclusive jurisdiction, the sole 
right to try the case; and concurrent jurisdiction, the right of two 
or more courts to try the same case. Jurisdiction is further class¬ 
ified as common law jurisdiction, the right to try offences recog¬ 
nized by the common law, as distinct from those recoginzed by 
statute only; civil jurisdiction, the right to try civil cases; crim¬ 
inal jurisdiction, the right to try criminal cases; and jurisdic¬ 
tion to consider questions of law as distinguished from questions 
of act. 

Parties The parties to a civil action, or “suit,” are 

called respectively the plaintiff and the defendant. The plaintiff 
is the party who claims to have suffered the injury. The defend¬ 
ant is the party who is charged with having done the wrongful 
act, and from whom satisfaction or damages are sought. Any 
number of persons, if similarly situated in reference to the mat¬ 
ter in controversy, may appear jointly as plaintiffs or defend¬ 
ants ; a corporation may sue or be sued; and parents or guardians 
may appear in behalf of the persons under their care. 

When a wrongful act is of such a nature that 
it affects injuriously the whole community, ir- 
lespective of the injury it may inflict upon any individual, the 
law classes it as a crime. In criminal proceedings the State, 
through its duly appointed agents, appears as the prosecutor of 


Crime 


136 


Felony 


the criminal. To make an act a crime, it must not only be a viola¬ 
tion of some provision of law, but must also exhibit a criminal 
intent, that is, it must be done under circumstances which, given 
ordinary intelligence, make it reasonably clear that the person 
who committed the act knew that it would, and therefore intended 
that it should, produce the unlawful result. To commit a crime, 
accordingly, a person must be mentally responsible; hence, insane 
or feeble-minded persons and young children are not regarded by 
the law as capable of committing crimes. But a person rendered 
temporarily irresponsible by some voluntary act of his own, as, 
for instance, an intoxicated person, is criminally liable. 

A wrongful act which is punishable by impris¬ 
onment in the State prison is known as fel¬ 
ony; other wrongful acts are known as crimes, offences or mis¬ 
demeanors. If a person has been the leader in committing an 
offence he is called the “principal;” those who have assisted him 
are called “accessories.” The law punishes both the principal and 
those who aid him. 

A person arrested on a criminal charge is en¬ 
titled to an early hearing before a court having 
jurisdiction of the offence. 

Bail is a money security, given by some per¬ 
son on behalf of the prisoner, as a pledge that 
the accused person will present himself at the proper time for 
trial, the amount being forfeited to the State in case the accused 
does not appear. 

A child who is absent without excuse six or 
7U ' more consecutive sessions during any term is 

regarded as an “habitual truant,” and as such may be arrested 
and taken to school, the persons responsible for the absence be¬ 
ing also liable to prosecution. 

While all laws are for the public benefit, the 
State in the exercise of what is called the “po¬ 
lice power,” exercises special jurisdiction over 
the lives, health, morals, and occupations of its citizens in certain 
particulars. Thus, it prohibits gambling and lotteries, punishes 


Hearing 


Bail 


Police 

Power 


137 


the circulation or exhibition of immoral pictures and literature, 
including reproductions of prize fights, prohibits the sale of cigar- 
ettes to minors, and puts under ban both the manufacture and 
sale of alcoholic liquors as beverages. It prescribes the use of 
safety appliances on railroads and regulates the hours of labor in 
factories, while in the general interest of health and life it as¬ 
sumes special authority in regard to infectious and contagious 
diseases. 


138 


CHAPTER VII. 


IMPORTANT DATES IN MAINE HISTORY. 

986 Biorn (or Bjarn), a Norseman, first European to visit 
America, lands at Cape Cod. 

1000 Lief and Norsemen, investigating Biorn’s story, spend 
the winter near present site of Fall River and name the 
place Vinland. 

1002 Lief’s brother, Thorvald (Thorwald) visits Vinland and 
remains three winters. 

1008 Thorfinn and his wife, Gudrida (Gudrid) also spend three 
years in Vinland. (Their son, Snorri Thorfinnson, was 
the first white person born on the American continent.) 

3121 Bishop Eirik (Erik, Erick) visits Vinland as a mission¬ 
ary. 

1492 Christopher Columbus discovers America. 

1497 John Cabot, first English explorer to New England coast. 

1498 Sebastian Cabot explores entire New England coast. (On 
this voyage England based her claim of the New World 
from Atlantic to Pacific.) 

1500 Gasper Cortereal, for Portugal, searching for Northwest 
Passage, sails along Maine coast. 

1524 Giovanni da Verrazano (Verrazini), for Francis I of 
France, makes extended examination of Maine shores. 

1525 Estevan Gomez for Charles V of Spain, seeking North¬ 
west Passage, enters many New England harbors. 

1527 John Rut, for England, explores interior of Maine. 

3556 Andre Thevet, for France, visits Maine and explores Pe¬ 

nobscot. 

1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, for England, explores Maine 
coast. 

1602 Coast of Maine visited by Bartholomew Gosnold. 

1603 Martin Pring makes survey of coast and larger rivers. 

1604-5 Expedition of De Monts. 


139 


1605 Captain Weymouth kidnaps natives. 

1606 First Virginia charter. Southern part of Maine included 
in grant to the Plymouth Company. 

1607 Unsuccessful Popham colony at mouth of Kennebec. 
Building of first ship on American soil. 

1613 Jesuit mission e stablished on Mount Desert Island. 

1614 Coast visited by Captain John Smith. 

1615- 18 Destructive war and pestilence among the eastern In¬ 

dians. 

1616- 17 Richard Vines winters at mouth of Saco River. 

1620 Patent of the Council for New England. The whole of 
Maine included. 

1622 Grant to Gorges and Mason of the region between the 
Merrimac and Sagadahoc, under the name of Laconia. 

1623 Permanent settlement made at Saco. Other settlements 
by this time at Sheepscot, Damariscotta, Pemaquid, Mon- 
hegan and a few other points. 

3 625 Trading post established on the Kennebec by Plymouth 
colonists. 

1627 First Kennebec patent. 

1628 First charter of Massachusetts. 

1629 Comnock’s patent (Scarboro and vicinity.) 

Second Kennebec, or Plymouth patent. 

1630 Two Saco patents: 

Lygonia patent (region of Casco Bay.) 

Muscongus patent (east of Penobscot,) later known 
as Waldo patent. 

1631 Pemaquid patent. 

1635 Division of the territory of the Council for New England. 
Encroachments of the French, under d’Aulney, on the 
Penobscot. 

1636 First organized government in Maine set up at Saco by 
William Gorges, nephew or Sir Ferdinando Gorges. 

1639 Sir Ferdinando Gorges’ charter of “The Province of 
Maine.” 


140 


1639 Pejepscot tract (Brunswick and vicinity) ceded to Mass- 
chusetts. 

1641 First chartered city in America—Gorgeana. 

1651 Massachusetts asserts its claim to Maine under the char¬ 
ter of 1628. 

1652-53 Settlements in western Maine submitted to Massachu¬ 
setts. County of Yorkshire established. Gradual ab¬ 
sorption of other settlements. 

1653 First representation of Maine, then county of Yorkshire, 
in the Massachusetts General Court. 

1661 Plymouth, or Kennebec, patent sold to John Winslow 
and others. 

1664 Royal order directing Massachusetts to restore Maine to 
Ferdinando Gorges (grandson of original proprietor.) 
Eastern Maine included in grant to Duke of York, and 
known as “Newcastle,” or the “County of Cornwall.” 

1665 Royal commissioners set up independent government in 
Maine. 

1668 Massachusetts government resumes control. 

1674 County of Devonshire (east of Kennebec) established. 

1675-77 King Philip’s war. 

1677 Purchase of Maine by Massachusetts from Gorges for 
1250 pounds. 

1678 Andros becomes governor, under the Duke of York, of 
New York and Sagadahoc. 

1680 Government of Maine reorganized by the General Court. 

1684 Massachusetts charter vacated. 

1687 Andros governor of New England. 

1688-99 King William’s War. Settlements in Maine ravaged. 

1689 Andros deposed and provisional government set up. 

1691 Second charter of Massachusetts, including whole of 

Maine. 

1697 Treaty of Ryswick. France and England both claim 
Sagadahoc (territory between Kennebec and St. Croix.) 

1703-11 Queen Anne’s, or Third Indian War. Settlements again 
ravaged. 


141 


1722-25 Lovewell’s, or the Fourth Indian War. 

1739 Line between Maine and New Hampshire fixed, after long 
dispute, by the king in council. 

1741 George Whitfield visits Maine. A second visit in 1744-45. 
1745 Capture of Louisburg by New England troops command¬ 
ed by William Pepperell. 

1745-56 Renewed Indian war. 

1754-63 Seven Years’ War, the last of the French and Indian 


Wars. 

1760 Cumberland and Lincoln counties established. 

1775 Capture of British schooner Margranetto at Machias. 

Falmouth burned by British. Arnold’s expedition to 
Quebec. 

1778 Maine constituted a district by the Continental Congress, 
and a maritime court established. 

1779 Unsuccessful attempt to drive the British from the Pe¬ 
nobscot. 

1780 Constitution of Massachusetts. 

1784 Establishment of the province of New Brunswick, and 
beginning of the long boundary dispute between the 
province and Maine. 

1785 Falmouth Gazette , first newspaper in Maine, established 
to aid the agitation in favor of separation from Massa¬ 
chusetts. Convention at Falmouth to consider separation. 

1786 Second convention for separation. 

1789 Hancock and Washington counties established. 

1794 Bowdoin College founded. 

1799 Kennebec County established. 

1801 First free public library established (at Castine.) 

1805 Oxford County established. 

1809 Somerset County established. 

1813 September 5, capture of the British brig Boxer by the 
American brig Enterprise off Portland. 

1814 British control established on the Penobscot and else¬ 
where in eastern Maine, continuing until end of war. 

1816 Penobscot County established. 


142 


Revival of agitation for separation. 

First separation law; not accepted. 

Great western emigration, or “Ohio fever.” 

“Cold year.” 

1819 Second separation act: accepted. State constitution 
formed. 

1820 Maine admitted to the Union. 

1827 Waldo County established. 

1832 Removal of seat of government from Portland to Au¬ 
gusta. 

1838 Franklin and Piscataquis counties established. 

1838-39 “Aroostook War.” 

1839 Aroostook County established. 

1842 Ashburton treaty, settling the disputed northeastern 
boundary. 

1846 First prohibitory law: ineffective. 

1851 Prohibitory law, or “Maine Law.” 

1854 Androscoggin and Sagadahoc counties established. 

1855 Mob outbreak in Portland over liquor agency. 

1860 Knox County established. 

1863-64 Twice invaded by Confederates. 

1870 Summer visitors “discover” Maine. 

1872 New Sweden colony established. 

1875 Compulsory education bill passed. 

1876 Death penalty abolished. 

1879 “State Steal,” disputed gubernatorial election. 

1880 Adoption of constitutional amendment providing for bi¬ 
ennial elections and biennial sessions of legislature. 

1884 Prohibitory constitutional amendment adopted. 

1891 Australian ballot system introduced. 

1892 Adoption of constitutional amendment providing educa¬ 
tional qualification of voters. 

1907 Unsuccessful attempt to remove State Capitol to Port¬ 
land. 

Celebration of ter-centennial of American shipbuilding- 
fat Bath.) 


143 


1908 Direct initiative of legislation and optional referendum 
adopted. 

1910 Final settlement of northeastern controversy with Great 
Britain. 

1911 Augusta declared seat of government by constitutional 
amendment. 

Attempt to repeal prohibitory law defeated. 

1912 Constitutional amendment adopted authorizing issue of 
highway bonds. 

1913 Taxation of intangible personal property authorized. 

1914 Public Utilities Commission created. 

1915 Workmen's Compensation law adopted. 

1916 Sieur de Monts National Monument established on 
Mount Desert. (Name changed by Congress in 1919 to 
Lafayette National Park.) 

Largest vote ever cast in State election. 

1917 Committee of One Hundred on Public Safety appointed 
by Governor. 

Million dollar appropriation for war purposes. 

National Guard mobilized at Augusta on July 5. 

1919 103d Infantry demobilized at Camp Devens, April 26-28. 

1920 Centennial celebration at Portland, June 28-July 5. 


144 





























MAINE STATE 
BOOKBINDING CO. 


AUGUSTA, ME. 




MAY 7 













